Jimmy Orr to lead L.A. Times’ Web news operations
The Los Angeles Times has named Jimmy Orr as managing editor, online, to oversee its Web news operations and its expanding portfolio of digital and mobile news properties.
Orr, 45, who is currently deputy editor, online, will assume his new duties Feb. 28. He will replace Sean Gallagher, who is leaving The Times and relocating to London.
Orr will oversee latimes.com and coordinate The Times’ print, Web, social networking and search engine optimization efforts. He also will lead the expansion of mobile content, including applications for Android, iPad and Windows set to debut this year.
“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,” Times Editor Russ Stanton said.
As the deputy editor for online, Orr encouraged more relevant content and more frequent posts on latimes.com, Stanton said in a memo to staffers. He was credited with helping build readership for blogs such as Technology, Ministry of Gossip and Politics Now.
He also beefed up online coverage of the State of the Union address, the revolution in Egypt and entertainment awards, Stanton said. Latimes.com ended 2010 with 1.6 billion page views and 493 million site visits, a 16% increase over 2009, according to Web analytics firm Omniture Inc.
“I am very excited and humbled by this opportunity,” Orr said. “The Los Angeles Times is a world-class organization.... The best journalism in the world is right here and I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Orr, who will report to Stanton, joined latimes.com from the Christian Science Monitor, where he was online editor. The Monitor was the first major U.S. newspaper to move entirely online, and Orr helped grow traffic by launching new blogs and pushing for social networking and search engine optimization measures.
Previously, Orr served as chief Internet strategist for President George W. Bush and California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. He graduated from Principia College in Elsah, Ill., in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science.
