Nick Goldberg Named Editor of "Current"

Nick Goldberg, editor of the daily Op-Ed Page at the L.A. Times, has been assigned to also edit the Times' troubled "Current" section on Sundays after the departure from the editorial pages of Bob Sipchen, and it may actually mark an improvement.

The only real objection to Goldberg is that he tries to have it both sides on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Like the movie producer Steven Spielberg in the disappointing "Munich" film, he practices a policy of moral equivalence on the issues between Israelis and Palestinians, managing only to alienate both sides.

But at least Goldberg has displayed a simple competence in both design and editing that may bring an upturn of quality in Current. It could hardly have been worse than it's been in the first few months since it was converted from the Opinion section.

Goldberg is a survivor. Like Mikoyan and Molotov in the Stalin regime, he seems to have managed to exist beside various powers-to-be, in this case Janet Clayton, Michael Kinsley and Andres Martinez, without being purged, which was true with few around the Times editorial pages.

This move gives him new authority, and he must now be given a chance to see what he can do. Current can't be worse and may be quite a bit better.