Christian Brown named editor of Norwalk Patriot

Christian Brown has been with the Downey Patriot since 2009.

DOWNEY – Downey Patriot staff writer Christian Brown has been promoted to editor of the Norwalk Patriot, effective July 1.

“Christian Brown is a terrific reporter and dynamic journalist, and I’m excited to see him put his multimedia skills to work in Norwalk,” said Jennifer DeKay, publisher of the Norwalk Patriot and Downey Patriot newspapers. 

“Christian is already working on ideas and partnerships that will strengthen our presence in Norwalk and give residents a community newspaper they can truly be proud of.” 

Brown is an award-winning multimedia journalist, specializing in print and radio reporting on topics of politics and public affairs.

Brown first joined the Patriot in 2009 as an intern and was hired as a staff writer the following year.  Since then, he’s worked at KPCC (Southern California Public Radio) as a fill-in reporter and traveled to Indonesia as a foreign correspondent for GlobalPost. 

Since 2014, Brown has won three L.A. Press Club awards: one 2nd place prize for a lifestyle feature on L.A.’s mass grave in Boyle Heights and a pair of 3rd place awards for a news feature on regional homelessness and an investigative report on the quid pro quo acquisition of a bankrupt community hospital. 

Brown graduated cum laude from Cal State Fullerton in 2010, earning his B.A. in Communications. In 2015, he graduated from the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism with an M.S. in Journalism.

Eric Pierce, the previous editor of the Norwalk Patriot, will remain as editor of the Downey Patriot.

“Eric is so ingrained in the Downey community, and by having him focus exclusively on Downey, I think it will improve the Downey Patriot that much more,” said DeKay. 
Pierce has been with the Downey Patriot since 2002. 

He won the award for Best Writing from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in 2014, and first place in the Photo Essay category in 2015. 

He is past president of Gangs Out of Downey, current president of Downey Los Amigos Kiwanis, and is a board member with the Downey YMCA. 

He is also a licensed Realtor working out of the office of Century 21 My Real Estate.