Bylines   

PBS: Elizabeth Drew , the New Yorker's Washington correspondent and "Meet the Press" regular, leaves PBS' "Inside Washington" after two decades. The show notified Drew in a January 13 letter that it was terminating her contract "to relieve you of contractual obligations during your convalescence." But Drew, who underwent surgery for a benign brain tumor in September, says she was within days of being pronounced fit by doctors. After the ax fell, Drew says, Executive Producer Tina Gulland invited her to one show in March but could offer no specifics beyond that. "I looked at the situation and said, 'I'm out of here,' " Drew says. "I have other professional arrangements that are more satisfying." For her part, Gulland says, "We were trying to be reasonable... I regret it. We exceeded our side of the commitment for months and months." Meanwhile, the "MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour" promotes reporter Kwame Holman to congressional correspondent. Holman succeeds Roger Mudd , who takes a leave of absence to conduct a seminar at Princeton University.

Magazines : Evan Thomas , Newsweek's Washington bureau chief, turns down an offer to move to New York and replace Assistant M.E. Dominique Browning , who leaves to work for Whittle Communications. "I've got a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old and a wife with a job in Washington, none of whom wanted to move," he says. Meanwhile, Newsweek hires Jay Mathews , formerly Los Angeles bureau chief for the Washington Post, as a reporter covering urban issues and names Michael Meyer , formerly Bonn-Berlin chief, as L.A. bureau chief. He succeeds John

Taliaferra , who leaves the magazine... Straight Arrow Inc., which publishes Rolling Stone and Us, dismisses eight employees, including Us Executive Director Robert Hofler . The company's new magazine, Men's Journal, debuts this month... The staff of High Times, the magazine founded in 1974 that features marijuana plants as centerfolds, moves to offices on Park Avenue. Unfortunately, the building prohibits smoking. "For five years we've been uncovering research about how hemp can replace everything now made of petrochemicals, and we only get coverage over this," laments Editor Steven Hager ... Chicago-based Outside magazine plans to complete new 20,000-square-foot offices in Santa Fe by early next year. Editor Mark Bryant says it "never made sense" for the outdoor magazine to be located in an urban area. Each of the 15 editorial staffers who spent a week hiking, rafting and biking in New Mexico this past summer as guests of Publisher Lawrence Burke seems to agree, Bryant says. "We can live a little more of what we cover," he says...Time Warner launches Who, the Australian version of People... Editor Michael Goff , former media columnist for the defunct Outweek, and Design Director Roger Black , a Hearst consultant who recently redesigned Esquire, launch a national gay magazine called Out. Other staff members include Executive Editor Sarah Pettit , formerly Outweek arts editor. "We hope to have elements of Esquire and Mirabella with a touch of Cosmo, that sort of story mix," Goff says.

The Networks: ABC names Tom Yellin as executive producer of a new, yet-to-be-named magazine show to challenge CBS' "60 Minutes" on Sunday nights beginning this summer. Meanwhile, NBC News Washington reporter Kyle Gibson moves to production; reporter Barrie Dunsmore , formerly in London, returns to Washington; David

Tabacoff , formerly a senior producer at "Nightline," becomes senior producer of election coverage; and reporter Rick Inderfurth resigns to join the Russian Winter Campaign, a humanitarian group based in Moscow. In budget cuts, ABC dismisses reporters Jeanne Meserve and Steve Shepard in Washington and reporter Greg Dobbs and producer Joel Buchwald in Denver... NBC names Washington reporter Jamie Gangel as "Today" correspondent and moves correspondent Deborah Roberts from Atlanta to New York. Also, Arthur Kent becomes foreign correspondent and Joe Alicastro senior European producer for "Dateline NBC." Both are based in Rome... CBS moves co-anchor Giselle Fernandez of the "Morning News" to report from New York for the "Evening News"; Meredith Vieira , formerly at "60 Minutes," succeeds Fernandez in the morning spot. Al Ortiz , formerly foreign editor in New York, becomes London bureau chief. He replaces Peter Bluff , now a "60 Minutes" producer.

Newspapers: The Arizona Republic names Maureen West , formerly assistant M.E. of the Daytona Beach News-Journal, as news editor. She replaces Jeff Dozbaba , now sports editor. The Republic also taps Stephanie Hudson , formerly assistant business editor, as op-ed editor. She succeeds Gerald Drury , who moves to the copy desk. Jennifer Dokes Garcia , a Phoenix Gazette reporter and editor, joins the Republic editorial board... Reporter Donald Skinner leaves the Orange County Register to freelance after seven years at the newspaper. He says that he found journalism "an endless struggle with the forces of greed, lust, violence and ignorance, all of which continue to have the upper hand." ..Former Dallas Times Herald columnist Molly Ivins begins a thrice-weekly column for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram... The New York Times names John Tagliabue , who covered Eastern Europe from Bonn, as a Chicago-based business reporter and hires Lynda Richardson , formerly a Washington Post reporter, as a metro reporter; Judith Serrin , formerly a professor at Columbia's School of Journalism, as a metro copy editor; and LeAnn Wilcox , formerly at the Miami Herald, as a sports copy editor. The newspaper also begins talks with the weekly Moscow News about publishing a Russian edition... The Washington Post hires Brian Kelly , formerly editor of Regardie's, as an editor for its Style section... Ben Cason , former editor of Journal Newspapers in suburban Washington, becomes executive editor of the Reston Times and Loudoun Times-Mirror in Virginia... Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev launches a new weekly political column written for La Stampa in Turin, Italy, and distributed by the New York Times... The L.A. Times names Paul Whitefield , an executive news editor, to head the news desk for its Washington edition... The Houston Post hires reporters Frank Bass , formerly at the Tampa Tribune, and Gardner Selby of the defunct Dallas Times Herald.

Free: Dannie Martin , the convicted bank robber who wrote about prison life for the San Francisco Chronicle, has been paroled. Martin won numerous writing awards until he penned a disapproving column about his new warden, who then squashed writing privileges (WJR, September 1990). Martin could not be reached for comment. Chronicle Sunday "Punch" Editor Peter Sussman , who edited Martin, says in 1993 W.W. Norton will publish a collection of his best pieces. Meanwhile, the former inmate is freelancing and pitching a book of fairy tales he wrote after the warden's crackdown.

Cable: The Christian Science Church announces it will shut down its Monitor Channel unless a buyer is found by June 15... CNN names Richard Cohen , a former CBS and PBS producer, and Pete Simmons , formerly an ABC and independent producer, as senior producers and Jane Stone , formerly at "60 Minutes," as producer for its special-assignment unit. The network also promotes Karen Bonsignore , formerly senior assignment editor in the L.A. bureau, to executive producer and M.E. of "CNN Showbiz Today" and names freelancer Jamie McIntyre as a Washington-based correspondent.

Local TV Feeds: Mike Moran , news director at KJCT in Grand Junction, Colorado, loses his job after telling the Denver Post he "didn't feel that badly" when he learned a former colleague had been murdered. Diane King , who had worked at KJCT for two years before becoming an anchor for WUHQ in Battle Creek, Michigan, was killed a year ago. After her husband was arrested in January, Moran told the Post, "If anyone could push you to the brink of doing something like that, it would be her." KJCT Manager Jan Hammer says that Moran's statements violated company policy. "He was not [authorized] to be a spokesman," Hammer says... David Duitch leaves WKYC in Cleveland to become executive producer for special projects at KDFW in Dallas... Stephen Doerr , formerly assistant news director for WRAL in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins WCAU in Philadelphia as executive news producer.

Radio: After joining WTOP-AM in Washington as M.E., Pat Anastasi is almost immediately promoted to interim news director when Joe Gillespie leaves the station after allegedly making insensitive remarks about a local black TV reporter. Anastasi spent the past 13 years at WMAL-AM, where he began as an intern and worked his way up to assignment editor... NPR appoints John Dinges , who had been interim M.E. of the news and information division, to the spot permanently... Howard Cosell retires from the ABC Radio Network and from broadcasting after four decades in sports reporting.

Back to School: Former Esquire Editor Lee Eisenberg is one of three journalists on a seven-member team recruited by entrepreneur Chris Whittle to develop a system of for-profit schools. The two others are Newsweek's Dominique Browning and Nancy Hechinger , a writer and founder of an interactive production company. Each has signed on for at least three years to direct "The Edison Project," which includes plans to open 200 private schools by fall 1995. Hechinger and Eisenberg move to Knoxville; Browning opts to remain in New York.

The Wires: A judge in New York rejects arguments by UPI management that it should continue to run the bankrupt service, allowing creditors to submit their own reorganization plans... AP taps Earleen Fisher , formerly bureau chief in New Delhi, as chief of Middle East Services, based in Cyprus. She succeeds Nick Ludington , now chief correspondent for World Service operations. Arthur Max , New Delhi news editor, succeeds Fisher.

In Memoriam: Carl DeBloom , former editor of the Columbus Dispatch, died at age 74. He began a 46-year career at the paper as a teen-age copy boy... Robert

Andrews , 59, an AP reporter in Washington, died of cancer. Remembered for his poignant description of John Kennedy Jr. saluting his father's coffin, he began his career with UPI before joining AP in 1978.