Robert Lopez returns to the Los Angeles Times after a six-year break from the newsroom. He rejoins the paper as accountability reporter on Metro desk.
In this new role, he’ll take on his own investigative projects as well as work in teams and provide training and support to others.
“I’m excited about returning to The Times,” Lopez tells Media Moves. “I will be able to help mentor younger reporters and do the investigative journalism that I’ve always loved. I’m also looking forward to being part of the guild’s Latino Caucus.”
In announcing his return, Deputy Managing Editor Shelby Grad described Lopez as an ideal candidate to improve the paper’s investigative coverage of Los Angeles and communities of color and “a master at uncovering corruption and gathering public records and understands that L.A.’s most vulnerable residents are often its most exploited.”
His first day on the new job is today.
Lopez left the daily to become Director of Communications for California State University Los Angeles in September 2014.
His prior career at LAT spanned over two decades. During his time at the paper, he was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize. As an investigative journalist, he led award-winning coverage of the California energy crisis, inequity in L.A. schools and the rise of gang violence. He also spent years working to uncover secret files concerning the death of journalist Ruben Salazar during the Chicano Moratorium.