Fidel Martinez named editorial director for Latino initiatives

The following announcement was sent on behalf of General Manager for Latino Initiatives Angel Rodriguez:

I am excited to announce that Fidel Martinez has been named editorial director for Latino initiatives at the Los Angeles Times.

Martinez joined The Times as an audience engagement editor in 2018, working in the Sports department. During his time there, he helped plan the social media coverage of several major events, including World Series and Super Bowls.

While working with Sports, Martinez pitched and developed the Latinx Files newsletter as a space focused on the American Latinx experience. The newsletter launched in November 2020 and since that time the subscriber base has continued to climb. During this time writing the newsletter, Martinez also helped in the creation of the Dia de Muertos digital altar project and the digitization of the Chicano Moratorium package.

He previously worked as politics editor for Mitú and as a social storytelling producer for Fusion Media Group, where he focused on English-speaking Latino audiences.

In his new role as editorial director, he’ll build on the success of the Latinx Files and work to incorporate new voices, and to bring our journalism to more platforms and make it essential to Latinos.

Martinez is excited to get going on this project and looks forward to talking with the newsroom about new ways to engage Latino communities.