Roger Smith, former national editor of the Los Angeles Times, has been named the managing editor of the California HealthCare Foundation’s Center for Health Reporting at University of Southern California’s Annenberg School of Journalism, according to Richard Kipling, the center’s editor-in-chief.
Smith helped lead the Times‘ coverage of the Affordable Care Act’s passage and legal challenges. He has directed presidential campaign coverage and overseen reporters covering religion, science and medicine.
For many years, Smith was editor of the Times’ “Column One” front-page feature, and Kipling says he “is a master at story conception and narrative structure.” Smith supervised a number of investigative projects, including two Pulitzer Prize award winners, in his 30-plus years at the Times.
Kipling’s statement notes Smith’s “enviable background in news, particularly in-depth analysis, investigative journalism and narrative storytelling – all areas the Center emphasizes.”
Kipling, the center’s former managing editor, took over the center after editor David Westphal retired earlier this year.
