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Jim Newton, the former editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times — twice — is about finished with his biography of President Dwight Eisenhower. He'll be coming back to the paper with an Op-Ed column starting in December, just in time for the city election cycle to ramp up. Here's the memo:
To: The Staff
From: Nick Goldberg, Editor of the Editorial Pages
Sue Horton, Op-Ed and Sunday Opinion Editor
We’re delighted to announce that Jim Newton, who is returning full time to the paper after finishing a biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, will be launching a new op-ed column on local government.
Jim brings to the job not only his formidable writing and reporting skills but also his deep knowledge of the workings of Southern California government. He has served the paper as editor of the Editorial Pages, California government and politics editors and city/county bureau chief. He was also one of the paper’s most acclaimed reporters over two decades, covering the 1992 riots (and their aftermath), the 1994 earthquake (and the reconstruction), the Los Angeles Police Department, the trial of O.J. Simpson and the administration of Mayor Richard Riordan.
A graduate of Dartmouth College, Jim began his career as clerk to James Reston of the New York Times. He has been with the Los Angeles Times since 1989.
Jim will also continue to serve on the editorial board, retaining his current title of editor-at-large and assisting with the management of the editorial pages. The column will launch in early December.
Newton is also a senior fellow in the School of Public Affairs at UCLA and did a series of election analysis videos last week in the UCLA Broadcast Studio.