Christina Bellantoni to lead L.A. Times political coverage

The Times is launching enhanced digital coverage of California politics, an effort that will be overseen by Christina Bellantoni, who currently is editor in chief of Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper.

As Assistant Managing Editor/Politics, Bellantoni will work closely with editors on the California desk to build a digital hub for political coverage.

Bellantoni, a California native, has extensive experience covering state and national politics, and experimenting with new story forms.

From 2003 to 2008, she was a reporter at the Washington Times, covering the Virginia statehouse, Congress, the 2008 presidential campaign and the White House.

Then she became a senior reporter-blogger for Talking Points Memo. She covered the White House and national politics for the pioneering news site and helped establish its Washington bureau.

In 2010, Bellantoni began her first stint at Roll Call, serving as associate politics editor. Then she spent two years as political editor at “PBS NewsHour,” managing the show’s coverage of Congress, the Supreme Court, the national immigration debate and the 2012 presidential race. She also appeared as an on-air analyst.

She returned to Roll Call as editor in chief in January 2014.

Bellantoni is vice president of the board of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which seeks to expand opportunities for women and minorities in newsrooms.

In 2011, she was a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

Bellantoni will start work Aug. 10.

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