Cox Interactive Media has decided to shut down LAinsider.com, a Web site offering everything from local restaurant reviews to news and traffic information.

A unit of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises Inc., Cox Interactive recently closed the L.A. office, which employed between 15 and 20 people, as part of an effort to reduce its 450-strong workforce by 15 percent, said spokeswoman Marleen Burford.

The company has been “really challenged” by a major decline in advertising spending and had to cut costs, she said. Along with LAinsider, Cox Interactive chose to close a Miami-based Web site, SoFla.com, another one of its 22 city sites.

Some of the L.A. employees were offered jobs within the company while others received severance packages, Burford said.

Editor Leaving

The editor who helped the Los Angeles Times implement ethical guidelines following the Staples Center controversy will be leaving for a Pennsylvania newspaper.

Ardith Hilliard has been named vice president and executive editor of The Morning Call, a daily based in Allentown.

While editor of the Times San Fernando Valley edition, Hilliard was appointed to the newly created post of associate editor and assistant to the editor to oversee the implementation of rules governing cooperation between the business and editorial sides of the paper. The move came after the Times Magazine published a special edition about the Staples Center in October 1999 without disclosing that the paper had a financial arrangement with the facility.

NATPE Cuts Back

The National Association of Television Program Executives recently laid off six employees at its headquarters in Santa Monica as participation at the nonprofit’s 39th annual syndication sales conference has dwindled.

The conference, set to be held January 21-24 in Las Vegas, is a major source of financial support for the association.

Beth Braen, senior vice president of marketing for NATPE, blamed the economic downturn for the group’s financial problems, though others note that the event is considered less important for the television industry than in years past.

PR Firm Closes

WPP Group suspended operations at the L.A. office of one of its public relations firms last week.

Carl Byoir & Associates laid off the local staff last week and most of its accounts were transferred to sister PR firm Hill & Knowlton, according to a source.

Claudia Peschiutta can be reached at 323-549-5225 ext. 229 or cpeschiutta@ labusinessjournal.com.