Kevin Merida

Kevin Merida is the former executive editor of the Los Angeles Times. During his two-and-a-half years in the role, the newspaper won three Pulitzer Prizes.

Before joining the Times in June 2021, Merida was a senior vice president at ESPN and editor in chief of The Undefeated, a multimedia platform that explored the intersections of race, sports, and culture. During his tenure at ESPN, he also oversaw the investigative/news enterprise unit, the television shows “E:60” and “Outside the Lines,” and chaired ESPN’s editorial board. While at ESPN, the journalism he oversaw received three National Sports Emmys and 12 nominations.

Before joining ESPN, Merida spent 22 years at the Washington Post in a variety of reporting and editing roles including managing editor for news and features coverage. As managing editor, he helped lead the Post to four Pulitzer Prizes.

Merida is co-author of “Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas” and “Obama: The Historic Campaign in Photographs.” In 1990, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist as part of a Dallas Morning News team reporting on the world’s “hidden wars.” He received National Association of Black Journalists’ Chuck Stone Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020. Merida is also a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.