Coffey departure signals a new era at the L.A. Times.

When rumors began circulating last week that a shakeup at the Los Angeles Times was imminent, attention quickly focused on the paper's high-profile Editor, Shelby Coffey III.

Coffey, in fact, did resign his post - part of a major newsroom restructuring last week under new Publisher Mark H. Willes.

But perhaps even more significant were the other personnel changes announced - the appointment of four new senior vice presidents.

The four - Jeffrey S. Klein, Janis Heaphy. Robert G. Magnuson and Robert N. Brisco were promoted as part of a top-level reorganization.

The aim, according to a company statement, is to "focus its business functions, such as advertising and marketing, around the sections of the paper in order to help The Times grow and connect more effectively with readers."

That move - linking commercial operations to editorial functions - represents a controversial evolution the paper has been undergoing in the weeks since Willes, chairman and chief executive of Times Mirror Co, was named publisher of the flagship Los Angeles Times.

"Traditionally at a newspaper, there has only been contact between editorial and business departments at the highest level - publisher and editor," said Bryce Nelson, chairman of graduate studies in journalism at the University of Southern California. "The new appointments certainly raise journalists' concern that the marketing department's influence over the other will increase."

In fact, said one Times editor, "there is a lot of fear in the newsroom because Willes is trying to align editorial and business functions, and each (news) section will now have to justify itself. Willes is going to demand accountability from all sections, at least on an executive level."

But the new senior vice presidents - immediately dubbed "sub-publishers" by some - said fears of commercial intrusions into the editorial product are unfounded.

"We are confident about preserving editorial integrity," said Magnuson, who in his new role will oversee the Orange County, San Fernando Valley and Ventura County editions. "It will be sacrosanct."

Said Klein: "It is not so much a sub-publisher scenario as a partnership. Editors are not reporting to the senior vice presidents, but they will be more closely aligned. It will be an opportunity to do new and innovative things."

As part of the changes, Coffey has been replaced by Michael Parks, a former foreign correspondent who had been promoted to managing editor only last year.

In addition, four new managing editors - Leo Wolinsky, Karen Wada, John Lindsay and John Arthur - were named as part of a reorganization of the newsroom where each will have different responsibilities.

Traditionally, such a major restructuring is made weeks or months after a new editor comes on board. The fact that they were announced on the same day as Parks' promotion suggests that Willes orchestrated the changes - a move which would help him gain staff loyalty, but which also signals his intent to play a hands-on role in developing the editorial product.

Lending weight to that view is the fact that Parks has very little newsroom management experience, especially at such a high level.

"This move may be unusual in the newspaper industry," said John Morton, president of Morton Research. "But it is certainly not unusual in the business world.

Klein said there was nothing sinister about the appointments.

Willes, a former vice chairman of General Mills Co., became chairman and chief executive of Times Mirror in 1995 and quickly made the company more profitable by slashing jobs at Times Mirror papers across the country.

But Willes was unhappy with the pace of change at the Times. Last month, Richard T. Schlosberg III resigned as publisher and Willes announced he would fill the job himself.

"The results are expected to play out in the months ahead. As part of the changes, the Times is reported to be preparing new sections aimed at Latinos and women - forays that had been resisted by some senior editors before the reorganization.

Because Willes gained most of his experience outside of newspapering, he is not bound by any tradition, Morton noted.

"As a newcomer to the paper business. Willes is shifting the traditional division of marketing and editorial," Morton said. "But no one knows how far that shift will be."