LA Times hires a director of audience engagement

I believe this is the first memo I've picked up from Mitra Kalita, hired in March as the Los Angeles Times' managing editor for editorial strategy, a new position.

Sent: Tuesday, June 16, 2015 9:51 AM
Subject: Alexandra Manzano -- Director of Audience Engagement

To: The Staff
From: Mitra Kalita, Managing Editor

I am pleased to announce Alexandra Manzano’s appointment as our new director of audience engagement. Ali’s promotion reflects the growing importance of our social-media team and its role in helping connect the Los Angeles Times with our audiences – from our website to community events to platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest. In her short time here, she already has worked with reporters and editors across the newsroom to think about readers, viewers and distribution at the beginning of our reporting process rather than at the end. Ali will build a team that will be crucial to The Times’ efforts to use our journalism to reflect and attract communities of interest.

Ali joined us from the Oregonian, where she was that newsroom’s first social media editor and engagement strategist. She designed its social media strategy, trained staff to expand their reporting and storytelling through social media, and grew online audience.

Ali has lectured on social media and journalism for the American Press Institute, Associated Press News Editors and AEJMC and was an organizer for the Online News Assn.’s Portland chapter. Ali, a native of Portland, earned a degree in broadcast journalism from Pepperdine University. You can connect with her on Instagram/Twitter/Snapchat: @AliManzano, or facebook.com/alimanzano, where she welcomes all tips about DTLA.

Hopefully she gets tips about a lot more of Los Angeles than DTLA or she won't have any audience to engage with.