A veteran journalist with the Los Angeles Times has been named city editor of the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram.

Nita Lelyveld, who will start next month, has been a staff writer, news and features editor, state editor and assistant city editor at the Los Angeles paper.

Nita Lelyveld Los Angeles Times

She has ties to Maine, where her family has owned land and a cabin Down East for nearly 50 years. The state “has always been a huge part of my life and I have been dreaming for years of moving to Maine,” Lelyveld said.

As city editor, Lelyveld will replace John Richardson, who will become deputy managing editor. Richardson will be replacing Dieter Bradbury, who is retiring.

The daughter of a New York Times foreign correspondent, Lelyveld grew up traveling the world. Her father, Joseph Lelyveld, worked for the New York Times for nearly 40 years, eventually becoming executive editor from 1994 to 2001.

Lelyveld began her career at the Tuscaloosa (Alabama) News and then joined the Associated Press, working in Hartford and Washington. After that, she worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer, which sent her to California as a national writer.

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When her assignment to California ended, she decided to stay and joined the L.A. Times, where she has held writing and editing positions and recently created City Beat, a feature that examines life in the California metropolis.

The feature has attracted a large social media following and Lelyveld said it reinforces her belief that newspapers are at their best when “building a community of readers who feel connected to the paper.”

“We’re fortunate to have found someone with such broad experience and talent to oversee critical coverage areas,” said Cliff  Schechtman, executive editor of the Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. “Nita is an insightful editor whose depth and sophistication will help improve our journalism. And her lifelong connection to Maine is a tremendous asset as well.”

“Nita is a superior journalist with an impressive resume,” said Steve Greenlee, managing editor of the Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram. “She has an infectious enthusiasm for her work and a wealth of ideas.”


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