Matthew Ballinger named deputy editor for L.A. Times content business strategy
The following announcement is sent on behalf of Senior Vice President for Content Business Strategy Julia Turner:
I’m pleased to announce that Matthew Ballinger is now our deputy editor for content business strategy. In his new role, he will help coordinate and accelerate our efforts as we continue building a strong and sustainable Los Angeles Times.
Ballinger will be drawing on his editorial, strategic and organizational acumen in this newly created position. He’ll be helping to develop and maintain new systems for collaboration between the newsroom and partners on the business side; drive our conversations about the evolution of our print product as we anticipate changes to our printing processes in 2024; and help disparate newsroom teams work together on crucial editorial projects. He’ll remain in the newsroom and will help both to advance our efforts internally and serve as a key liaison to colleagues around the company.
Born and raised in Southern California, Ballinger joined the Los Angeles Times in 2008 and has worked as a copy editor, homepage editor, history blogger and editor for the Homicide Report, as well as working on the rollouts of several newsroom technology platforms. Most recently, he spearheaded the launch of the Utility Journalism Team, which he has led since its inception in 2020, and which has developed useful, high-performing coverage of everything from COVID to karaoke, earthquakes to Hollywood careers, elections to ADUs.
Those who’ve worked with him over the years trust and respect him for his smarts, integrity, curiosity, reliability, wit, kindness and audience-first thinking. He also has a knack for getting large, complex projects done (and large, complex groups of people happily on the same page). He’ll have ample opportunity to demonstrate these traits in his new role. (Whether he’ll be able to demonstrate his first-hand knowledge of every MLB ballpark remains to be seen.)
There will be more to say in the coming weeks about the Utility team and some of its recent achievements; Jon Healey will be editing them as Ballinger takes on his new responsibilities, which start today.
