Hello! I’m Paul Thornton, a Los Angeles-based journalist with two decades’ experience in fast-paced editing, writing, community outreach and accountability journalism. I worked for more than 19 years in the Los Angeles Times’ Opinion section, serving as the newspaper’s letters editor from 2010 until leaving in early 2025 after opposing the billionaire owner’s meddling in the wake of the canceled 2024 presidential endorsement.
Since then, with a highly respected fellow L.A. Times opinion alum, I co-founded Golden State, a California-focused opinion journalism nonprofit. We feature both award-winning journalists and writers with no professional publishing background but something important to say based on their own experiences or expertise.
I’ve done a lot: A regular op-ed column, newsletters built from scratch, video editing and whatever else needs to be done. Bragging about my work on a website like this (complete with a professional headshot — yikes!) runs counter to every instinct I have as an editor, a behind-the-scenes role dedicated to elevating the voices of others and letting them take all the credit. But since you’re here, welcome! I hope you like what you see, and as always, feel free to drop me a line.