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The plan to turn the LA Times' Sunday magazine over to the paper's business staff, ending its four-decade run as an editorial product, is now a reality. LAT editor Russ Stanton acknowledged that he didn't like the idea, but said that the paper's budget issues make holding onto editorial control of the magazine "impossible." So who is the Tribune Company's leading candidate to take charge of the troubled magazine now? The perfect choice: a host from the Home Shopping Network HSN.

[LAT Publisher David] Hiller declined to discuss specific plans for the magazine, but said Annie Gilbar, a former editor of InStyle and L.A. Style magazines and a onetime host on the Home Shopping Network, was "the leading candidate" to be named the top editor. Gilbar is also an author of several advice books, including "Wedding Sanity Savers."

She's also the author of The Penny Whistle Christmas Party Book and The Penny Whistle Party Planner. So at least the magazine's funeral party should be decent.

[LAT]

[UPDATE: The Home Shopping Network HSN PR machine writes in: "Please update your files to note that our proper name is HSN, not Home Shopping Network and since HSN is not an abbreviation, even the first reference to our company should be HSN. Thank you for helping us to maintain consistency with regard to our name and brand." My pleasure!]