By: Joe Strupp The Los Angeles Times has hired Marilyn W. Thompson, editor of the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader, as national investigative editor. She will assume the position on Sept. 1 and work out of Washington, D.C.
"During her tenure (at the Herald-Leader), the paper fearlessly examined its own failure to cover the civil rights struggles of Southern blacks during the 1950s and '60s," the Times wrote in a press release announcing the appointment, which first appeared on the Romenesko Web site.
"Marilyn is one of the most accomplished investigative journalists in the business and will play an important role in the overall work of the bureau," Times Editor Dean Baquet said in the release. "She brings remarkable depth and breadth of experience - not to mention a string of memorable scoops - to one of the most vital jobs at The Times."
Before moving to Kentucky, Thompson spent 14 years at The Washington Post as a reporter, editor and, eventually, assistant managing editor for investigations. Under her leadership, the Post won the Pulitzer Prize for public service. In 2003, she broke the story that segregationist Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina had secretly fathered a daughter by his family's black maid.
She also worked as a reporter at the New York Daily News in the 1980s, where she broke the Wedtech corruption scandal. It resulted in more than 20 federal indictments. She has worked as a reporter at the Philadelphia Daily News and The Record in Columbia, S.C.
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