LA Times film reporter accepts WSJ job

Ben Fritz, the film reporter at the Los Angeles Times, has accepted a job at The Wall Street Journal to cover the movie business, reports Alexander Kaufman of The Wrap.

Kaufman writes, “Nancy Sullivan, vice president of communications for the Times, said the paper would replace him in the coming weeks.

“‘Yes, Ben Fritz will be leaving the Times in the next few weeks,’ Sullivan said in an email to TheWrap. ‘We’ll be announcing a terrific new reporter who’ll be joining our entertainment team at that time.’

“Fritz is the latest in a string of recent departures from the Times’ arts and entertainment desk.

“Assistant managing editor for arts & entertainment Sallie Hofmeister left in June. Then, longtime film writer Patrick Goldstein, who wrote the ‘Big Picture’ column, announced his departure in August. A month later, Geoff Boucher, who founded the popular ‘Hero Complex’ fanboy blog, resigned and joined Entertainment Weekly.

“Other entertainment section departures include arts and entertainment editor Craig Turner and Nightlife Editor Dean Kuipers. A year ago, TheWrap hired the Times’ former online arts and entertainment editor, Lisa Fung, as its first executive editor.”

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