Press release | Los Angeles Times
Julia Turner has been promoted to the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Content Business Strategy at the Los Angeles Times, reporting to Executive Editor Kevin Merida.
“Julia is a skilled editor and strategist who has been a key leader in our efforts to cultivate ambitious journalism and ensure our work reaches more people,” Mérida said. “She has experience working with disparate teams to come together around common goals and she will bring that skill to this new role. She will be instrumental in guiding where the Los Angeles Times should make strategic bets, helping us pursue editorial excellence in ways that support our business goals.”
Mérida also said that in his new senior role in the newsroom, Turner will work closely with colleagues on the business side, aligning editorial and financial goals and leading efforts to refine and expand plans for a wide range of projects.
“The opportunities that lie ahead for the Los Angeles Times are limitless,” said Turner. “We are based in a city that faces the future every day. Who invents the future every day. We have a unique opportunity to build the newsroom of the future to match: as innovative, diverse and dynamic as Los Angeles itself. It will be a privilege to work with Kevin Mérida and our extraordinary team to help chart a sustainable course for the important work we are doing and the exciting things we will do next.”
Turner joined the LA Times as deputy managing editor in 2018 following a 15-year career at Slate, where she served as editor-in-chief for four years. During her time at the helm of Slate, she grew the audience for the online magazine, podcast network and membership program, and the journalism published by Slate was recognized with several honors, including Polk and National Magazine Awards. Most recently, she directed sports and entertainment coverage for the LA Times and worked with newsroom leadership to develop and implement an editorial strategy.
“The journalism of the Los Angeles Times is a tremendous asset,” said Anna Magzanyan, the Times’ director of strategy and revenue and chief of staff to the chief executive. “We are delighted that Julia has taken on this role and, among other things, she will accelerate communication between the newsroom and the different revenue departments. Her experience combining rigorous journalism with data-driven audience strategy will be vital to our content strategy.”
During Turner’s years leading the Entertainment staff, the team significantly expanded the size of its digital audience and the range of cultures it covers. He also aggressively pursued investigations, including the stories that led to the industry boycott of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. and Golden Globes. In addition, Entertainment staff members have won or been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prizes in each of the past three years.
Effective immediately, Turner will work within the newsroom and with leaders across the company to drive editorial content strategy and expand business opportunities associated with journalism for The Times.
