Former LA Times reporters to launch non-profit investigative site

By Robin J Phillips on Mar 19, 2010 in Basics, Investigation

Former Los Angeles Times staffer Myron Levin is set to launch FairWarning.org, a Web site designed to produce in-depth stories on safety and health issues.

The site is scheduled to go live on Wednesday, March 24.

Levin will run FairWarning with Joanna Lin, also a former Los Angeles Times reporter, and three graduate students at the UC Berkeley and University of Southern California journalism schools.

According to LAObserved, Levin, 61, took a 2008 buyout from the L.A. Times after 23 years.

“Even before news budgets went into free fall, few news organizations gave adequate attention to safety and health investigations, despite the potential to save readers from injury or death,” Levin said in a press release about the launch. “In today’s hollowed-out newsrooms, even fewer reporters can tackle these complex and time-intensive stories. We want to help fill the gap.”

About the Author

I am digital director at the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism, which I joined in 2009. Before that I was Online Community Manager for azcentral, the online site for The Arizona Republic. Before arriving in Arizona, I worked at Newsday where I was Deputy Business Editor. I was the small business editor at BusinessWeek Online. I teach journalists to use Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools to expand and manage their networks. And I am a cofounder of #wjchat, a weekly Twitter chat about web journalism. You can reach me at Email: Robin.Phillips@BusinessJournalism.org OR RobinJPhillips.com OR @RobinJP