Laird Townsend

Laird Townsend is an Associated Press-trained journalist and magazine editor. As a desk editor for more than ten years, he has edited upwards of 100 journalists of all levels, from New York Times reporters to beginners, and has helped a number of minority journalists make the transition from newspaper and trade reporting to narrative journalism. At Orion magazine, a national environmental bimonthly where he was features editor from 2003 to 2007, Townsend helped the magazine earn the coveted Utne Independent Press Award for General Excellence in 2004. Terrain magazine, a Berkeley-based environmental news quarterly, where Townsend was editor and publisher from 1997 to 2003, won two Project Censored awards under his leadership.

Director's Work Samples

For journalism articles developed by the editor, click here.