Archibold, Cave head to Mexico

Former Los Angeles Times reporter and editor Randy Archibold is headed to Mexico to become the new Mexico City Bureau Chief for the New York Times. Archibold is the paper's L.A. correspondent and has mostly covered immigration and border issues in recent years. He'll be joined in Mexico City by reporter Damien Cave, who served as Miami Bureau Chief for the New York Times and was in Baghdad before that.

Current Mexico City chief Marc Lacey is headed to Phoenix

Here's part of the memo:

Before his stint in L.A., Randy worked in Metro writing about education, politics (including the 2000 Senate race between Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio and the 2004 vice presidential race of John Edwards), as well as anchoring a series, 125 Cedar Street, about people who lived in the shadow of the twin towers and found themselves without homes after 9/11. Before joining The Times in 1998, Randy worked at The L.A. Times for five years as a reporter and editor.


Damien arrives in Mexico via Miami and Baghdad, with a detour to Haiti to contribute a stream of memorable stories as part of our team coverage of the earthquake. As Miami bureau chief, he ranged widely, from memorable long form pieces like the psychological scars among women in combat to a smart political take on the Charlie Christ (sic) race to his knowing, fun essay on Tampa as host of the 2012 Republican convention. In Baghdad, he helped cover a pivotal year, including a memorable collaborative effort that showed street-level fears in Baghdad's neighborhoods about security. He also brings to his new assignment a commitment to innovative approaches on the Web and in video, working with his wife, Diana.

In related news, chief political correspondent Adam Nagourney is slated to become the new L.A. bureau chief for the New York Times. He will replace Jennifer Steinhauer, who is heading back to Washington to cover Congress. The change was reported back in March.