LA Times editor Pearlstine bullish on his paper’s future

Los Angeles Times Executive Editor Norman Pearlstine says that he is committed to create a great newsroom for journalists even since he took over the “largest newsroom west of the Potomac” eighteen months ago.

This weekend, Pearlstine was in St. Petersburg, Florida, for Poynter’s annual Bowtie Ball, in which he was honored with the 2019 Distinguished Service to Journalism Award.

“The leadership of the union and the editorial management team were absolutely in sync about the importance of journalism and the importance of making Los Angeles a place where great journalism and great journalists can feel they’re gonna make a home,” he said. “A lot of the negotiations were not about salary or benefits but what it takes to make a news staff productive.”

“I never had an issue with the union,” he continued. Referencing years of layoffs and attrition under previous L.A. Times owner Tribune Publishing, he added, “If I had lived through what they lived through in the years prior to (owner) Patrick (Soon-Shiong)’s acquisition, I’d feel the same need for that kind of protection.”

He said he was the 11th editor in 19 years at the Times, and came in as the fourth or fifth in nine months.

Pearlstine said the existential question at the Times is whether it’s a local, national or international publication.

“The answer is yes to all of that,” he said. “We’re really trying to produce content for Californians and people who think about California. If you think about the issues that divide us, they are also the issues that are so important to our city. Homelessness, income inequality and its impact on housing, immigration, environment, education … these are all the subjects that cut across our community.”

Pearlstine later entertained a sold-out dinner crowd of about 550 at the Vinoy Hotel during a Q&A with Poynter President Neil Brown.