David Hiller resigned as publisher of the Los Angeles Times after less than two years in the position. Hiller leaving takes place as the Times readied to axe 150 newsroom positions. A successor is expected to be named by the end of the summer. Until then Tribune Co. Chief Administrative Officer Gerry Spector and COO Randy Michaels will handle the daily operations of the newspaper. Hiller is a former publisher of the Chicago Tribune who took the reins of the Times at a time when advertising losses necessitated cutbacks in staff. His predecessor Jeffrey Johnson had been forced out after he reportedly balked at a corporate directive to make more cuts at the newspaper.
