Los Angeles Times Names Sewell Chan a Deputy Managing Editor

Chan joins editorial leadership team where he’ll focus on news for digital and print audiences

The Los Angeles Times said that Sewell Chan has been named a deputy managing editor. He will report directly to Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine.

Chan will supervise a team of journalists responsible for initiating coverage and developing content for its digital, video and print platforms. They will be drawn from and work closely with all of The Times’ editorial departments.

Chan, 40, has spent the past 14 years at The New York Times where he worked as a reporter in Manhattan and Washington; as deputy editor of the Op-Ed page and Sunday Review section; as a news editor in London responsible for breaking news from Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and, most recently, as International News Editor in New York.

“Sewell Chan has distinguished himself as a skilled and thoughtful editor and a collaborative and caring colleague,” said Pearlstine. “He will play an important leadership role while making us smarter and faster.”

“We’re thrilled that Sewell will be joining our team,” said Times Managing Editor Scott Kraft. “He’s a seasoned news leader with a zeal for driving daily coverage and he’ll be a crucial part of our newsroom’s future.”

The Los Angeles Times, The San Diego Union-Tribune and their community publications in Southern California were purchased by Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong on June 18, restoring local ownership to them. Since then, The Times has been rebuilding and expanding its newsroom.

“Speaking with Sewell convinced me that he shares our commitment to serving readers and viewers with distinctive reporting and storytelling,” said Dr. Soon-Shiong, executive chairman of The Times. “His broad expertise and his enthusiasm for strong journalism bring our paper another step closer to delivering on our promise to recruit the best and brightest in our industry.”

“No publication is better equipped to tell the story of America’s future than the Los Angeles Times,” Chan said. “And no place in American journalism is as exciting right now as the Los Angeles Times, under its new owner and leadership team. The Times is growing in its ambitions and staffing, and I am thrilled to be part of the revival of this essential institution.”

Chan grew up in New York’s borough of Queens, graduated from Harvard and then studied politics at Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship before joining The Washington Post as a metro reporter. Four years later he went to The New York Times, where he established himself as one of that paper’s most prolific reporters. He has also been a digital innovator: He co-founded that paper’s local news blog, supervised the launch of a mobile app and helped lead a 24/7 global newsroom.

In its press release last year announcing Chan’s appointment as International News Editor, The New York Times wrote, “Virtually everyone who encounters Sewell comes away with the same assessment: He is a phenomenon. Boundless energy. Meticulous knowledge of global events. Deep passion for Times journalism.”

Pearlstine said, “We agree with that assessment, and we look forward to Sewell joining the Los Angeles Times and its management team on Sept. 24.”