Former L.A. Times editor joins public radio station KPCC

Public radio station KPCC hired former Los Angeles Times Editor Russ Stanton as vice president of content, responsible for the station’s broadcasts, website and live events.

Southern California Public Radio President Bill Davis announced the move Tuesday, saying he hired Stanton as part of a push by the station to improve its quality and extend its reach in Southern California.

Whereas the other top public radio stations in the Los Angeles area focus on music or a combination of music and news, KPCC-FM (89.3) has carved out a niche by focusing almost entirely on news and public affairs.

It has become the most listened to public radio station in the region with that format, according to Arbitron ratings, and is hiring reporters to increase its heft both on the air and on its website.

“As a news organization, all of us here have great respect for the Los Angeles Times — and admiration for the work Russ did there during his tenure as editor,� Davis said in a statement.

The hiring reflects a “commitment to journalism and creating a public forum to debate the most important issues of the day,� he said.

Stanton, 53, left The Times last month in what was described as a “mutual decision� between the editor and Times President and Chief Operating Officer Kathy Thomson. Stanton had served as editor of The Times for four years, a period in which online readership grew to 17 million readers a month and the paper won three Pulitzer Prizes, including the Public Service award for uncovering corruption in the city of Bell.

“I am very excited to be joining the staff of my favorite radio station,� Stanton said. “In addition to learning a new medium, the fun part of this job will be expanding the news operation to cover urban issues that are important to Southern California, such as education, public safety and immigration.�

While many other news organizations have been hit by the bad economy and the flight of advertising and have been forced to lay off staff, KPCC has been growing. With the hiring of 20 producers, editors and reporters over the last year, the station now has a news department of 57.

It plans to make more than a dozen additional hires this year, according to the station’s website. That is a start on a larger drive by KPCC to more than double staffing in its newsroom by 2014, said program director Craig Curtis. The station has raised more than one-third of the $24 million it needs to achieve that goal, according to a story on the KPCC website.

The station has launched blogs on immigration, education and the environment, among other topics, and reporters on those beats also contribute to KPCC’s signature on-air programs, such as “The Madeleine Brand Show,� “AirTalk� with host Larry Mantle and the “Patt Morrison� show.

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