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Los Angeles Times Editor Kevin Merida Is Stepping Down
Kevin Merida on April 29, 2017, in Washington, D.C. Merida announced he is stepping down as executive editor at the L.A. Times.
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Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida announced on Tuesday that he is stepping down from his role after being at the helm for two and a half years.
“Ours is a fierce, resilient, superbly talented newsroom, and I am proud to have belonged to it,” Merida wrote in an email to staff.
His last day at the Times will be Friday.
Merida joined the Times in 2021 and said in his email that during his tenure the newsroom “made tremendous progress” toward its transformation into a “modern innovative news media company for a new generation of consumers.”
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But his tenure also included the challenges brought by the COVID pandemic. He also oversaw a round of layoffs, with the paper cutting 74 positions last June.
Merida did not respond to a request for comment.
In a separate note to staff, the paper’s owner and executive chairman, Patrick Soon-Shiong, said he and Merida mutually agreed on the end date.
“Kevin also played a strong role in steering the LA Times through a challenging economic climate within the media industry,” Soon-Shiong’s note said.
Senior leaders are conducting “an internal and external search” for Merida’s successor, he added.
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