The News

LA Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine Exits After Weekend Of 78th Birthday

By Ray Pride

October 5, 2020

“Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine announced that he would soon step down and that the paper was launching a search for a new top editor who could chart a digital future and unite a newsroom that has been torn by controversies. Pearlstine, who celebrated his 78th birthday over the weekend, made the announcement during a meeting with top editors and in a note to staff members. Pearlstine said he agreed to stay on until Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong identifies a successor who can amplify the journalism produced by the 542-person newsroom, push further into video storytelling and other digital distribution platforms to attract more digital subscribers and return the paper to profitability. In his nearly two and a half years at the top, Pearlstine sought to stabilize a newsroom that had been battered by years of layoffs, cost-cutting and mismanagement under its former owner, Tribune Publishing, which also called itself Tronc. Pearlstine led a dramatic hiring spree, replenishing the paper’s beleaguered ranks, recruiting top editors and working to improve technology used to generate a larger audience for its journalism. During his tenure, The Times’ journalism became stronger, in part, due to the increased resources from the Soon-Shiong family. Amid nationwide unrest over Floyd’s May 25 killing in Minneapolis by police, staff members at The Times began questioning newsroom leadership for its failure to better diversify during a hiring surge as more than 120 journalists joined the staff since late 2018. The Times is attempting to atone for its history of failures in covering communities of color and a newsroom culture that has resulted in mistreatment and underrepresentation of Black and Latino journalists. Last month, the paper elevated Angel Jennings — who had been the lone Black reporter in the Metro department — to the masthead as the newspaper’s first assistant managing editor for culture and talent. During the introspection over race and coverage decisions, the newsroom separately became roiled by revelations of ethical breaches and management missteps.”

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