Hearst moves Road & Track

New York publishing house Hearst says it will move the Road & Track magazine editorial offices from Newport Beach, Calif., to Ann Arbor, Mich., home of its other auto-magazine title, Car and Driver. Additionally, Larry Webster has been named editor in chief, replacing Matt DeLorenzo.

Webster had been automotive editor of Hearst's Popular Mechanics since January 2010 and before that was the Detroit editor for Popular Mechanics. He also worked at Car and Driver.

Hearst says the Newport Beach office will remain open into the fall. There are conflicting reports as to how many members of the staff has been asked to make the move to Ann Arbor -- the numbers range from “a few” to “everyone's been sacked.”

Jim Meigs, editorial director for the Hearst Men's Enthusiast Group, said the magazine is having ongoing conversations about which staffers make the move. “Larry [Webster] is out there working with them, getting to know people,” Meigs said. “Through that process we will determine, both through people's own interest and how they might fit the new demands of the magazine when it moves, where there might be good fits.”

It's too soon to say how many people will make the move or whether the size of the edit staff in Ann Arbor will match the level in Newport Beach, Meigs said.

“A move obviously carries with it a certain amount of disruption but also enormous opportunity for us,” he added.

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