Talent Drain: The LA Times Lost 6 Top Editors of Color in January | Exclusive

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The loss of diverse leadership troubles some at the metropolitan paper covering a city that is half Latino

Former LA Times top editors who have left in the last month: Kimbriell Kelly, Kevin Merida and Sarah Yasin (Getty/LA Times/TheWrap/Chris Smith)
Former LA Times top editors who have left in the last month: Kimbriell Kelly, Kevin Merida and Sarah Yasin (Getty/LA Times/TheWrap/Chris Smith)

The Los Angeles Times has shed six newsroom leaders of color in less than a month, a troubling outcome for the publication which has historically struggled to create a diverse newsroom in the multicultural city of Los Angeles.

Even before Jan. 22’s historic layoffs of 120 newsroom staff — which has already disproportionately affected staffers of color — three Black and brown editors from the masthead had stepped down: executive editor Kevin Merida and managing editors Shani Hilton, both of whom are Black, and Sara Yasin, who is of Palestinian origin.

Their departures were followed a week later by the dismissal of at least three more prominent editors of color.

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