FairWarning.org hires assistant editor

FairWarning.org, a nonprofit online site featuring in-depth stories on safety, health and corporate conduct, has named veteran newsman Stuart Silverstein.

Silverstein spent 23 years as a staff writer and editor for the Los Angeles Times, and was deputy national political editor when he left the paper in 2008. Prior to that, he covered labor, economics and higher education as a reporter for the Times’ business and metro staffs.

Earlier in his career, Silverstein was a reporter and editor for newspapers in Atlanta, Dallas and Buffalo.

In addition, Silverstein taught business journalism at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism, and spent a semester as Annenberg’s Los Angeles Times Journalist-in-Residence.

“Stu is the consummate pro — an excellent editor, reporter and writer,” said Myron Levin, founder and editor of FairWarning. “We’re excited that he has decided to join us, and we know he’ll make terrific contributions.”

FairWarning, which began publication in March, recently broke a story about a plan by Washington lobbyists to unite the electronics industry against tougher laws on drivers using cell phones and other mobile devices (“Lobbyists Target Distracted Driving Campaigns by Oprah, Ray LaHood”).

Major news outlets, including The New York Times and the Washington Post, then took up the issue. The media coverage prompted Transportation Secretary LaHood to hold a press conference denouncing the plan, and the lobbyists ultimately scuttled their plans for the coalition.