Miller moves from LA Times biz desk to metro to cover food

Los Angeles Times deputy managing editor Hector Becerra sent out the following on Monday:

After five years in Business, Daniel Miller is joining Metro as an enterprise reporter exploring the world of food. In this role, he will focus on features and investigations, as well as cover breaking news. His work will examine the entirety of the culinary ecosystem, from the fields where food is grown to the fine-dining haunts where it is served.

As a coverage area, food has long been of interest to Miller. During his 10 years at The Times, he has profiled the forgotten founder of the French Laundry, uncovered the legal battles of an investment firm that shuttered a beloved Japanese restaurant chain and written about the deli waitress who became L.A.’s “hottest free agent” during the early months of the pandemic, among other stories. Earlier this year, he penned a Column One about a Monterey Park restaurateur who grappled with moving on from the mass shooting there and covered a spate of unwanted Uber Eats deliveries that inundated two L.A. neighborhoods.

As an enterprise reporter for Business, Miller wrote about a missing, million-dollar pocket watch once owned by J.P. Morgan, exposed sexual misconduct allegations at L.A.’s storied Magic Castle and profiled a controversial classic car dealer with “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” ties. More recently, Miller has helmed The Times’ ongoing coverage of last year’s Brink’s big rig jewelry heist. He was also the host of the 2019 documentary podcast “Larger Than Life,” which chronicled the life of street racer Big Willie Robinson.

An L.A. native and UCLA graduate, Miller joined The Times in 2013 and spent five years covering the business of entertainment for Company Town. In that role, he broke stories on sexual abuse allegations in Hollywood, detailed the noir-soaked life of a Black detective with claimed connections to Raymond Chandler and revealed the Walt Disney Co.’s complex business ties to the city of Anaheim. Miller was a Loeb Awards finalist in 2016 for “Selling Stardom,” a series on unscrupulous show business operators.

For Metro, Miller’s rigorous reporting and eye for narrative will illuminate an essential beat: food. As a hub for innovation, creation, exportation — and exploitation — L.A. occupies a singular space in the global culinary establishment. Miller’s work will scrutinize the powerful interests in this multifaceted industry. As part of his job, he will communicate regularly with and at times produce stories for our Food section and will report to me. He started April 10.