Jim Newton is the editor-at-large of the Los Angeles Times, where he also serves as a columnist whose work appears weekly on the Op-Ed page. In his 22 years at The Times, Newton has worked as a reporter, editor, bureau chief and, from 2007 through 2009, editor of the editorial pages. Before coming to The Times, he was a reporter at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and he began his career as the 1985-86 clerk to New York Times columnist James Reston. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Newton is a respected author of two important works of history. His first, Justice for All: Earl Warren and the Nation He Made, was a critically acclaimed best-selling biography of the former chief justice and California governor, published in 2006. His next is entitled “Eisenhower: The White House Years.” It is being published by Doubleday and though not scheduled for release until October, it already is receiving sterling reviews. Publishers Weekly called it “clear, brisk, and insightful, a timely study of a master of consensus politics with lessons for today's polarized Washington." Book List described it as “a well-done presentation that helps correct enduring perceptions about an effective but misunderstood presidency." And Bob Woodward, the Washington Post’s great investigative reporter and author, called Eisenhower “a truly great book.”

Newton also teaches journalistic ethics at UCLA, where he is a senior fellow at the School of Public Affairs.