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Douglas Frantz will step down as a managing editor of the Los Angeles Times as of July 6 after nearly two years in the post.

Frantz joined the paper in 2003 from the New York Times. He was initially a foreign correspondent based in Turkey before transitioning into the No. 2 editing post under former editor Dean Baquet. Leo Wolinsky, who was appointed the other managing editor at the same time as Frantz, remains in that role.

Frantz told the Times in a story posted on the paper's website Thursday that he does not have a new gig immediately lined up but wants to return to reporting.

"My true love is reporting and writing," Frantz told the Times.

In a statement issued by the Times, editor James O'Shea praised Frantz as "an extraordinary journalist, a tough-minded editor and one of the world's best investigative reporters."

The Times said O'Shea would soon begin the process of selecting a successor for Frantz.