First female L.A. Times editor in newspaper’s 142-year history talks layoffs and losing journalists of color
Amid significant layoffs affecting many young minority staff members, the Los Angeles Times has named the first female executive editor in its 142-year history. And Terry Tang, taking over as interim editor, says she’s aware of the turbulence she’s stepping into.
“It is a challenging time, but it is a challenging time for the entire journalistic industry,” Tang told NBC News in an interview. “I’m very excited about meeting this challenge.”
Tang has spent 4½ years at the paper, helming the opinion section. Before that, she was at The New York Times for 20 years, holding titles in both editorial and news. She’s taking over L.A. Times from Kevin Merida, who stepped down this month along with several other top editors.
This week, the paper gave layoff notices to around 120 journalists, a quarter of its staff. These cuts particularly affected recently hired journalists of color, who were hit by the Times’ seniority clause.
“The company has reneged on its promises to diversify its ranks since young journalists of color have been disproportionately affected,” the L.A. Times Guild said in a statement Tuesday. “The Black, AAPI, and Latino Caucuses have suffered devastating losses,” it said, using the acronym for Asian American and Pacific Islander.
As the paper made moves to diversify its staff in recent years, Tang said, those minority reporters were often the last ones hired.
“None of us wanted to see that,” she said. “There continue to be and there were negotiations over that, and that was a consequence. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t continue to make that a priority as the paper faces these challenges and comes through them.”
The L.A. Times vertical De Los, dedicated to covering the city’s 48% Latino population, took significant slashes. Jeong Park, who covered Asian American communities, which make up 11% of the city's population, was also laid off.
“Seeing so many top notch Latino journalists let go today from LA Times,” journalist Adrian Carrasquillo said in a post on X. “Comes a week after 200 layoffs at Univision. One of the greatest losses of Latino journalism talent and experience and community memory ever. Heartbreaking as a journalist and someone who cares about covering the community.”
Despite these losses, Tang says, the paper will continue to do essential reporting on minority communities, reorganizing the remaining staff and working with the resources they have.
“That coverage wasn’t only done by the people who have been laid off. Many of the people who did that coverage still remain,” she said. “Some staff members were laid off, but that doesn’t mean we shut the lights. What we’ll do is deploy the people we have in the most effective way.”
Many beloved editors of color stepped down as well, including Merida, who is Black; Shani Hilton, who is Black; and Sara Yasin, who is Palestinian American.
“There are great journalists who have left, and we’re all in a period of trying to reassess how we do things,” Tang said. “The thing about morale is that it can only be improved by showing that we are still at work, we are still fulfilling the mission we have as journalists. … We’re not just here for our own purposes.”
She sees the upcoming weeks as an opportunity for the Times to “reset,” and says young journalists of color who still have dreams of working at the paper shouldn’t let those go.
“We’ve retained plenty of people who also offer that voice, myself included,” Tang said. “Don’t lose heart because, when I started in this industry, it didn’t seem easy either. … If you want to be a journalist, then you’ll find ways to do that. Journalism is an act, and it is a profession, but it’s also a mindset.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
