LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Kevin Merida announced Tuesday he is stepping down from the position after roughly two and a half years.
Merida's departure will be effective on Friday.
"Today, with a heavy heart, I announce that I am leaving The Times," Merida wrote in a message to staffers, the paper reported. "I made the decision in consultation with (Times owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong), after considerable soul-searching about my career at this stage and how I can best be of value to the profession I love."
According to The Times, Soon-Shiong said he and Merida had "mutually agreed that his role as executive editor of the L.A. Times will conclude this week." He said an internal and external search would be conducted to find a replacement.
"In the near term, the newsroom's senior leadership team, Julia Turner, Sara Yasin, Scott Kraft and Shani Hilton, will be overseeing the newsroom, with Terry Tang continuing to lead Opinion," Soon-Shiong told staffers, according to The Times.
Merida, 66, joined The Times in June 2021. He previously led the news operation at ESPN, and spent two decades with The Washington Post.
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