Shelby Coffey III is the former editor of the Los Angeles Times.

Currently a senior fellow of the Freedom Forum and trustee at the Newseum, Coffey was president of CNN Business News and CNNfn.

Prior to joining CNN, Coffey served as executive vice president of ABC News, where he was responsible for editorial standards and practices, online activities, cable program development and ABC News productions, in addition to other editorial responsibilities.

From 1989 to 1997, Coffey was the editor and executive vice president of the Los Angeles Times. He joined the newspaper in 1986 as deputy associate editor and in 1988 was named executive editor. During his tenure, the Los Angeles Times won five Pulitzer Prizes and was a finalist for the award 25 times. In 1995, the National Press Foundation named Coffey Editor of the Year in recognition of the Los Angeles Times’ coverage of the 1992 riots in Los Angeles, the 1994 Northridge earthquake and the 1994 O.J. Simpson trial. Among the honors, he received the Ida B. Wells Award in 1995 for exemplary achievement in the hiring and advancement of minorities in the news media.

Before joining the Times, Coffey was senior vice president and editor of the Dallas Times Herald, and earlier was editor for U.S. News & World Report.

Coffey began his journalism career at The Washington Post as a sports reporter.  During his 17 years there, he held a variety of editorial positions, including Style section editor, deputy managing editor for features and assistant managing editor for national news.  Coffey is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations and the International Press Institute, and has served on the board of the Pacific Council on International Policy.
Coffey earned a bachelor of arts degree in speech and drama at the University of Virginia.