Anne Russell
is no longer the editor in chief of Shape magazine, American Media’s
Active Lifestyle Group EVP and editorial director
Barbara Harris said today. Harris will oversee the search for the magazine’s new editor
in chief as well as an executive editor.
Sam Syed
has been named design director at Popular Science magazine. He makes
the move after six years at Dennis Publishing, where he was
Stuff magazine’s creative director and Maxim’s deputy art director.
Syed was previously a freelance art director for FW magazine and F-1
Racing magazine. He has also worked with MacUser, PC Pro, Computer
Shopper and PC Zone.
Time
Inc. veteran Carl N. Mehlhope
has been named publisher of Stack, a magazine launched early this
year for teen athletes interested in improving their performance
safely and effectively. In his 16 years at Time Inc. Mehlhope held several positions
including his most recent as group associate publisher and director of sales
at Time4 Media.
David Merrefield
has been tapped to oversee Home Furnishing News’ editorial team, in
addition to his current responsibilities as Supermarket News and SN
Whole Health vice president and editorial director. He joined
Fairchild Publications in 1979, eventually rising to SN executive
editor and later editor-in-chief. Merrefield became editorial
director in 2000.
Also at
Supermarket News, Christopher
Warne has risen from advertising sales manager to
associate publisher. He joined the Fairchild Books division in
1994.
Jason Burns
has been named vice president of development for Alta Loma
Entertainment, a wholly owned subsidiary of Playboy Enterprises. He will be responsible for developing mainstream feature film
and television opportunities.
Emmy-winning comedy writer
Gary Belkin died Thursday
of emphysema. He was 78. Belkin worked on sitcoms and TV shows
including Sid Caesar’s “Caesar's Hour,” “The Carol Burnett Show” and
“Sesame Street.” He won an Emmy in 1970 for his work on “Annie, The
Women in the Life of a Man,” and in 1974 and 1975 for “The Carol
Burnett Show.”
Louis J. Briskman
has been named executive vice president and general counsel for CBS,
responsible for overseeing all legal activities for CBS, UPN, the
Viacom TV Stations Group, Paramount TV, King World, Infinity
Broadcasting, Viacom Outdoor, Simon & Schuster, Showtime and
Paramount Parks. After the planned Viacom split, Briskman will
become chief legal officer of the new CBS Corporation. Briskman was most recently was senior vice
president and general counsel at Aetna.
Jose Luis Padilla
has been named general manager of Univision Television Group’s
Arizona stations, responsible for KTVW and KFPH in Phoenix; KTVW and
KFPH in Flagstaff; KUVE, KUVE and KFTU in Tucson; and KFTU in Douglas.
Padilla was most recently the general sales manager of Univision and
TeleFutura stations in Arizona.
There
will indeed be changes on a NBC’s “Joey,” the first of them a
new character. Zack is another aspiring
actor around Joey’s age who thinks he’s going to be a big star
someday. The role has not yet been cast.
“Rescue
Me’s” Diane Farr is
joining the cast of CBS’s “Numb3rs,” where she will play a special
agent with the FBI. She is signed up for multiple episodes but is
expected to join the show full-time. Farr is currently wrapping up
production on Dennis Leary’s
“Rescue.” She played the show’s
first female firefighter. Farr’s other credits include “The Drew
Carey Show” and “The Job.”
Can a
fictional character have a birthplace? If you’re Star Trek’s Scotty,
yes, and not just one but four. Since last month's death of actor
James Doohan, who played
Montgomery Scott, four towns in Scotland have claimed that they are
the birthplace of the USS Enterprise engineer. Aberdeen, Linlithgow,
Elgin and Edinburgh all claim to have proof to support their claim
and each plans to erect a memorial.
