TheWrap continues to expand its best-in-class editorial team, and has hired new editors to head up its film and television coverage. Kristen Lopez will serve as the site’s Film Editor and Jose Alejandro Bastidas joins as its new TV Editor, the company announced on Tuesday.
Lopez and Bastidas will be responsible for managing, mentoring and growing their respective editorial teams, in addition to editing and writing film and television news and features. The new hires come on the heels of the promotion of two new co-executive editors, Adam Chitwood and Jethro Nededog, who were former assistant managing editors at TheWrap, promoted on Jan. 1.
“TheWrap continues to build out the most talented editorial team covering entertainment, and Kristen and Jose are smart, passionate and very exciting additions to that roster,” said TheWrap founder and editor-in-chief Sharon Waxman. “I am so excited to see their ideas enhance our editorial offerings.”
Lopez most recently served as the TV Editor at Indiewire, where she was nominated for a SoCal Journalism Award and National Journalism Award by the L.A. Press Club. A pop culture essayist, critic and editor, Lopez has also written for Variety, MTV, TCM and RogerEbert.com. Her first book, “But Have You Read the Book: 52 Literary Gems That Inspired Our Favorite Films,” is due out from Running Press and TCM on March 7.
“I am thrilled to be joining TheWrap,” said Lopez. “I’m eager to work with its talented group of writers and start exploring the new year of cinema.”
Bastidas comes to TheWrap after three years as the San Francisco Chronicle’s Assistant Arts and Entertainment Editor. Prior to that role, he was a staff writer at PopCulture.com, a CBS Interactive publication based in Nashville, Tennessee, and a food reporter and digital producer for The Desert Sun, a Gannett publication based in Palm Springs, California.
“I am beyond excited to take over the reins of the mighty TV team at TheWrap,” said Bastidas. “As a self-proclaimed ‘TV addict,’ I’ve been working toward a position like this for my entire career. TheWrap is already a big player in covering the TV business and what consumers want to learn about, and I am thrilled to bring my perspective into molding the publication’s coverage of the industry.”
Lopez starts on Jan. 18, Bastidas starts on Feb. 13. Both will be based in Los Angeles.
About TheWrap
The Wrap News Inc is the leading digital-first news organization covering the business of entertainment and media via digital, print and live events. Founded by award-winning journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009, The Wrap News Inc. is comprised of the award-winning, industry-leading website with its high-profile news breaks, investigative stories and authoritative analysis; it also includes premium, glossy magazines with stunning original photography and editorial, distributed to entertainment industry professionals; Wrap Events, a series of high profile gatherings of thought leaders including the Power Women breakfast Summit, Oscar season screening series and TheGrill, an executive leadership conference centered on the convergence of entertainment, media and technology.