NY Times makes two new hires in Culture

The following excerpt was sent out from The New York Times’ Sia Michel, Michael Cooper, Alicia DeSantis and Barbara Chai:

It’s an exciting moment for the Culture department, as we expand our ambitions, elevate our pop culture coverage and amplify our efforts to help readers discover their next favorite cultural experience. So we are thrilled to announce the addition of two new leaders to the Culture team.

David Malitz joins the desk as a deputy editor. A longtime arts, entertainment and media editor, David comes to The Times from The Washington Post, where he was most recently senior culture editor, leading a team that focused on deep-dive profiles and immersive projects like “The Search for the Perfect Sound.” David’s primary focus will be editing criticism, growing our pop culture coverage and developing new service and other major initiatives. In addition, he will work closely with Alicia DeSantis as we continue to push the boundaries of storytelling by exploring new story forms and experiences, as David did with a multimedia history of “Walk This Way.”

Previously The Post’s deputy features editor, David ran the daily news and enterprise coverage and formed media and pop culture teams to target new audiences. He also edited the Sunday Style print section during a run as pop culture editor.

David graduated from the University of Maryland. He will report to Sia.

We are also excited to announce that Robin Kawakami will be an assistant editor directing audience, data and digital publishing. She is joining The Times from NBC News’s “Today,” where she was a senior digital editor specializing in lifestyle service journalism and special reports focused on diversity and culture. She will work closely with the newsroom’s Audience team and incorporate data and analytics to help inform the Culture desk’s coverage. She will also partner with Michael Cooper on daily news coverage to ensure our work reaches the widest audience possible, and she will run our live coverage of the Oscars and other tentpole events.

Earlier, Robin was a digital features editor at The Wall Street Journal, curating the home page, and launching a series of coverage forums to share best digital practices. She will report to Barbara and will help support other strategic initiatives on the desk.

Robin graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and earned a master’s degree while studying in Europe.

David and Robin begin June 26.