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The Los Angeles Times has signed John Myers to be the paper's new bureau chief in Sacramento. John is currently the California political and government editor at KQED-TV in the Bay Area. He's a long-time television journalist, so in that sense quite a departure for the Times in Sacramento, but he's also considered one of the more respected journalists covering the state capital. Before returning to KQED last year, Myers had been the political editor for News10 KXTV, Sacramento’s ABC affiliate. Before that Myers was the Sacramento bureau chief for KQED Public Radio’s statewide program The California Report.
Phil Willon has been the acting bureau chief. Myers starts next month.
Some news, folks. A new adventure for me in CA politics and statehouse coverage, starting next month... https://t.co/pR8CMSEwjm
— John Myers (@johnmyers) September 24, 2015*Added: Here is the memo from new political editor Christina Bellantoni.
From: Bellantoni, Christina
Subject: Staff announcement
We’re thrilled to announce John Myers, one of the most renowned journalists on California politics, is joining the Los Angeles Times as Sacramento bureau chief. John has a distinguished multimedia career covering state government and a reputation for thoughtful, explanatory reporting.
John, now senior editor at KQED, is its longest-serving statehouse bureau chief. He also has served as political editor for Sacramento’s ABC affiliate News10 KXTV. John displayed digital innovation way ahead of the curve, starting one of Sacramento’s first daily news blogs in 2004 and a weekly politics podcast in 2006. Californians know him for his moderating of the state’s only gubernatorial debate in 2014. He was named by the Washington Post one of America’s most influential statehouse reporters in 2014 and a top state politics reporter in 2015. He is a graduate of Duke University and UC Berkeley.
John embodies the values and expertise of many previous Times Sacramento bureau chiefs: He’s well sourced and has earned a reputation for cutting though the smoke and mirrors of state government and getting to the truth. His contemporaries say he’s one of the journalists who best helps an audience understand the meaning behind the political machinations.
In this role, John will work to advance our mission of breaking agenda-setting news, producing high-impact enterprise emphasizing our watchdog role, and taking readers behind the scenes to show how the Capitol works. He will be a partner with our team in Los Angeles to build new offerings and work with our talented bureau reporters to help grow the team for the future. John will be a critical player on the team as we expand our digital footprint in Sacramento, writing regularly as one of the anchors of our new political vertical and the Essential Politics newsletter. His background in writing, radio and TV makes him ideal to take this role.
Coverage of state government and the political professionals who live, work and play in Sacramento is key to the future phases of our politics vertical, and John is the right man to help us craft something that will be a must-click and must-watch as much as a must-read.
We couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead for latimes.com/politics and Team Politics. And we want to thank Phil Willon for leading the bureau over the last two years.
Phil will now become a state politics writer, focusing on the upcoming U.S. Senate race. This is a return to political writing for Phil, who served as a L.A. City Hall reporter for several years and before that ran our Inland Empire coverage.
John will start Oct. 20. Please join us in welcoming him to our team.
Christina, Linda, Shelby, Marc and Davan
Christina Bellantoni
Assistant Managing Editor/Politics
