14 Sep Leaving the L.A. Times

(Video: Rich Marosi/Robert J. Lopez)

I spent 22 years at the Los Angeles Times, where I worked on investigative and multimedia projects across the United States and in Mexico and Central America. I had a wonderful career and was part of a team of reporters that won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for exposing government corruption in Bell, a small city southeast of Los Angeles.

But I was offered a great job and realized that it was time to take on a new and exciting challenge.

I left The Times in on Sept. 4 to take a job as director of communications at California State University Los Angeles. It was a great opportunity to continue a career of public service in the higher education arena. My decision to leave journalism was reported on by several websites that track moves in the media. Here they are:

Robert Lopez Leaves the L.A. Times

Veteran Reporter Talks About Leaving Journalism

LAT’s Robert J. Lopez leaves for communications job at Cal State LA