Los Angeles Times Names Lewis D’Vorkin as Top Editor

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/business/media/los-angeles-times-editor-lewis-dvorkin.html

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LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Times said on Monday that it had named Lewis D’Vorkin, previously a senior executive at Forbes, its top editor.

The announcement followed a sweeping management overhaul at The Times in August that resulted in the ouster of several senior leaders, including Davan Maharaj, who had served as both editor and publisher. At the time, Tronc, the parent company of The Times, installed Ross Levinsohn, a longtime media executive, as publisher.

Mr. D’Vorkin, 65, was most recently the chief product officer at Forbes, where he oversaw the company’s product, technology and editorial teams. While at Forbes, he broadened the company’s native advertising offerings, including a product called BrandVoice that allows advertisers to contribute material alongside Forbes articles. He has also worked at The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek and The New York Times.

“Lewis is one of the most transformational editors and digital innovators in the media industry and is exceptionally qualified to lead the evolution of the Los Angeles Times newsroom,” Mr. Levinsohn said in a statement. “He knows how to build a competitive, sustainable media business with global clout while preserving the highest standards of journalistic integrity.”

The announcement was met with some skepticism in the newsroom, according to two Times journalists, who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear that commenting could affect their jobs. There is some worry, they said, that Mr. D’Vorkin will be more focused on clicks and advertising, rather than pursuing ambitious journalism. Although employees in the newsroom said they recognized the value of having a more robust digital operation, they also gathered around desks to voice their concerns to one another after the announcement was made in a staffwide email.

Tronc executives said at the time of the leadership shake-up in August that The Times was not transforming quickly enough on the digital side. But inside the newsroom, many employees had expressed long-simmering dissatisfaction with the paper’s leadership, describing management issues that included extensive delays in getting articles like investigative projects published. Several employees had sent letters of complaint to Tronc’s leadership, which conducted an internal review before the management changes were announced.

Separately, employees at The Times are trying to unionize. Last week, the organizing committee made its effort public in a one-page letter it left on employees’ desks. The letter called for improved working conditions, higher pay, more generous benefits and protections for staff members against “unilateral change by Tronc.”