Tronc Names New Top Editors In L-A and NYC

Tronc moved Monday to calm rising tensions at publications on both coasts, announcing that it had named new top editors at The Los Angeles Times and The New York Daily News.

Jim Kirk, the former editor and publisher of The Chicago Sun-Times, took over as the editor in chief of The Times, and Jim Rich, who previously served as the editor in chief of The Daily News, will return to that role.

The announcement of Kirk’s new position confirmed a New York Times report on Sunday that he would assume the job held by Lewis D’Vorkin, a former chief product officer at Forbes who was not a popular figure in the newsroom during a tenure that lasted less than three months.

The NYTimes reports D’Vorkin will stay on at Tronc as its chief content officer, a role that involves establishing new products to distribute its journalism.

Rich, who served as the editor in chief of The Daily News for a 13-month period that ended in 2016, will return to his former post on Wednesday, Tronc said. Most recently, he was the executive editor of HuffPost, a job he left in December, when he said he planned to start a nonprofit news site.

During his last stint at the tabloid, Rich, 46, distinguished himself with attention-grabbing headlines that excoriated Republican leaders.

In a statement announcing the changes, Justin C. Dearborn, the chief executive of Tronc, said, “We are continuing to invest in high quality journalism, which will always be the company’s top priority.” He called Mr. Kirk a “talented news veteran” and Mr. Rich “a well-established media professional.”

Tronc, which publishes newspapers including The Chicago Tribune and The Baltimore Sun, is trying to leave behind a bruising period marked by rising turmoil in the newsrooms of The Daily News and The Times.