LOS ANGELES, April 13 /PRNewswire/ -- The Los Angeles Times today announced two executive appointments that further the editorial and operational transformation currently underway. Jim Newton, presently the paper's Los Angeles city-county bureau chief, has been named editorial page editor, responsible for overseeing The Times editorial and opinion pages. As a native of California who has spent much of his career covering local and state issues, Newton brings a keen understanding of issues that matter to Southern Californians, including politics, government and legal affairs.
"Jim is an exceptionally fine journalist and an acclaimed author, and is passionately interested and knowledgeable about the public life of this city and region," said The Times Publisher, David D. Hiller. "He is extraordinarily well-suited to sustaining the voice of the paper, and he brings to this job a track record as a strong and independent newsroom manager."
Jim Newton began his career clerking for James Reston, senior columnist for The New York Times, followed by a brief stint as a reporter at the Atlanta Journal Constitution. He joined the Los Angeles Times in 1989 and has spent much of the past two decades covering some of the state's most high-profile stories. From Rodney King to the O.J. Simpson murder trial to the administration of former Mayor Richard J. Riordan, Newton has been at the center of the state's recent history. Newton is also the author of the book, Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made.
In addition, Russ Newton (no relation to Jim), currently vice president, production, has been promoted to senior vice president, operations, responsible for all production operations at The Times.
"Russ is an excellent leader with a great track record of leading best-of-class operations, always raising the bar on quality, efficiency and customer satisfaction," added Hiller. "He will do a terrific job leading change as we find innovative ways to produce and deliver the news to Southern Cal."
Russ Newton has spent a career working in operations for some of the country's most notable newspapers. From 1978 to 1982, Newton worked as a dispatch courier and press trainee at Madison Newspapers, Inc., in Madison, Wisconsin. In 1985, he joined the Tribune Company, serving as a shift supervisor, crew supervisor and trainer at the Chicago Tribune and was also engaged at the Orlando Sentinel and Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia. He joined the Los Angeles Times in 2000 as director of operations and president at California Community News and has served as The Times vice president, production since 2005.
About the Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is the largest metropolitan daily newspaper in the country, with a daily readership of 2.2 million and 3.3 million on Sunday. The Los Angeles Times and its media businesses -- including latimes.com, The Envelope/theenvelope.com, Times Community Newspapers, Recycler Classifieds, Hoy, and California News -- reach approximately 8.1 million or 62% of all adults in the Southern California marketplace.
The Los Angeles Times, has been covering Southern California for over 125 years and is part of Tribune Company , one of the country's leading media companies with businesses in publishing, the Internet and broadcasting. Additional information about the Los Angeles Times is available at http://www.latimes.com/mediacenter.
