Maria L. La Ganga promoted to deputy managing editor for California and Metro

The following announcement is sent on behalf of Interim Executive Editor Terry Tang:

I’m delighted to announce that Maria L. La Ganga, the city editor, will become deputy managing editor for California and Metro effective today.

In her new role, she will oversee our largest department, the engine of the newsroom. She has earned the full confidence and respect of the Metro staff with her journalistic skills, superb news judgment and dedication to making The Times an indispensable source for news in this region.

La Ganga graduated from Granada Hills High School in the San Fernando Valley and Cal State Northridge, where she studied English literature and journalism. She first worked at The Times in 1981 as an academic intern in the Metro section. She has served as Seattle bureau chief, San Francisco bureau chief, edited in the Business section and pitched in on six presidential elections, five for The Times and one for the Guardian. La Ganga left The Times in 2015 and returned in 2018 after a brief hiatus during which she wrote for the Guardian and the Idaho Statesman.

She will report to Managing Editor Hector Becerra.