Newspaper & Mailroom

Los Angeles Times Names Jimmy Orr Managing Editor, Online

Tuesday 15. February 2011 - The Los Angeles Times today announced that Jimmy Orr has been named Managing Editor, Online. Most recently Deputy Editor, Online, Orr will take on editorial responsibility for latimes.com and the Los Angeles Times Media Group's expanding portfolio of digital and mobile properties. Orr succeeds Sean Gallagher who is moving to London and will leave The Times at the end of the month.

“We are extremely pleased to have Jimmy Orr take on overall responsibility for latimes.com and know our readers will benefit from his leadership, digital experience and unerring dedication,” said Times Editor Russ Stanton. “Since joining our newsroom last August, he has made significant strides in improving the usability of the site and we look forward to continued growth.”
Orr is charged with working across The Times’ newsroom and masthead to ensure continued integration of print, Web, social networking and search engine optimization efforts and consistency across distribution mediums. In addition, he is responsible for expanding mobile content strategy, including for upcoming Android, iPad and Windows apps, as well as implementing latimes.com’s daily news and features.
“I am very excited and humbled by this opportunity,” said Orr. “The Los Angeles Times is a world-class organization as evidenced most recently by our outstanding round-the-clock Egyptian coverage. The best journalism in the world is right here and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Orr joined latimes.com in August 2010 from the Christian Science Monitor, where he was online editor. While there, he assisted in converting the Monitor newsroom into a 24/7 operation, with a focus on growing traffic, including through the creation of new blogs, developing relationships with partner content providers, vastly increasing the frequency of publishing, and acting as the principal liaison with leading aggregators. Orr has had successful and innovative careers in both journalism and politics. He served as the chief Internet strategist for both President George W. Bush and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. He is a graduate of Principia College.
Latimes.com ended 2010 having garnered 1.64 billion page views and a 16% increase in site visits to 493 million visits. For the year, local online audiences also increased, with 30% of users coming from Southern California*.