by Los Angeles Times top editor Kevin Merida told staff members Tuesday that he was resigning “after considerable soul-searching about my career.”
He said his last day would be Friday.
Mérida was named senior editor of The Los Angeles Times in 2021. He had previously worked as a senior editor at The Washington Post and ESPN.
Patrick Soon-Shiong, the biotech billionaire who owns The Times, said in a memo to the newspaper’s staff that he and Mérida had “mutually agreed” that Mérida should go.
“Given the persistent challenges we face, it is now imperative that we all work together to build a sustainable business that enables growth and innovation,” Soon-Shiong wrote.
Merida did not respond to requests for comment.
When Mérida joined the news organization, he was seen as a stabilizing force in the newsroom, which had been hit by corporate ownership battles, cost cuts and the painful erosion of its traditional business model and stature as a media outlet. preeminent news. organization on the west coast.
But Mérida’s mandate was not free of turbulence. In June, the Los Angeles Times announced it would cut more than 10 percent of its newsroom staff of more than 550 people, citing economic headwinds.
Merida also received criticism from some employees when he banned journalists who signed a letter condemning Israel’s response to the October 7 Hamas attacks from covering the conflict with Gaza.
In his note, Soon-Shiong said the Los Angeles Times would launch a search for Mérida’s successor that would include internal and external candidates.
In the meantime, he wrote, the paper’s existing leadership team would continue to oversee the newsroom.
