Transforming News Organizations for the Digital Future

Agenda | Speakers | Fellows | Resources

Fellows

Michael Arrieta-Walden is the senior editor for online at The Oregonian, a position created in 2006. Before that, he was the public editor for the newspaper, addressing reader concerns and writing a weekly column about the newspaper's journalism for three years. He has been an editor at The Oregonian for more than a decade, previously leading the coordinating, Family & Education and Metro South teams. Before joining The Oregonian, he worked as a reporter or editor at The Albuquerque Tribune, Seattle Times, The Olympian and The Statesman-Journal. He received his degree in journalism from Northwestern University.

Marty Baron was named editor of The Boston Globe in July 2001 after joining the  newspaper in 1999 as executive editor. During his tenure, a team of Globe reporters won a Pulitzer Prize for their 2001-2003 investigation into sexual abuse by clergy of the Roman Catholic Church. Baron came to the Globe from The New York Times where he has spent three years in several top management positions. Baron began his journalism career at The Miami Herald in 1976, serving as a state reporter and later as a business writer. He then moved to the Los Angeles Times in 1979, where he became business editor in 1983, assistant managing editor for “column one,” polls and special projects in 1991, and editor of the newspaper’s Orange County Edition in 1993. Baron graduated from Lehigh University with both B.A. and M.B.A. degrees.

Yvonne Beasley has been digital editor at The Des Moines Register since May 2006. Before arriving in Des Moines, she was online editor at the Reno (NV) Gazette-Journal, and before that at the Juneau Empire in Juneau, Alaska. She has worked at newspapers and other publications in the Seattle area and in Washington, D.C.

Mark Cardwell is managing editor/digital media at the The Denver Post, with overall responsibility for online operations and strategic partnerships. Prior to joining The Post in mid-2006, he was editorial director, ABCNews.com and executive producer for the digital group at the Associated Press. He holds degrees from Boston University and Columbia University.

Ken Chavez is assistant managing editor/interactive media for The Sacramento Bee, where he has been a journalist for 18 years. Previously, he was deputy city editor and worked as a reporter covering politics, City Hall and local news. He is a graduate of Stanford University and began his career in the Los Angeles Times' Minority Editorial Training Program.

Liza Gross is managing editor/presentation and operations for The Miami Herald, and is responsible for the newspaper's visual appearance, daily production and weekend news sections. Gross, who has 22 years of experience in journalism and communications, is a former executive managing editor of El Nuevo Dia, the largest circulation daily in Puerto Rico, and a former publisher of Exito, the Spanish-language daily of The Chicago Tribune. A native of Argentina, has also served as a reporter and editor on the Latin America Desk of the Associated Press in New York City, managing editor of Hispanic Magazine, and executive editor of Times of the Americas, a Washington, DC-based bimonthly covering Latin America and the Caribbean.

John Hassell is assistant managing editor/weekend and online at The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., responsible for the Sunday and Monday newspapers and for digital initiatives. He has worked at The Star-Ledger for 11 years, previously as a national political writer, foreign correspondent and editor of the Sunday Perspective section. In 1995, he was a lead writer of the newspaper's coverage of Gov. Jim McGreevey's resignation, which won a Pulitzer Prize. He has also worked at the Asbury Park Press of Neptune, N.J., and The Post and Courier of Charleston, S.C. Hassell is a graduate of Cornell University,

Robin Henry

Rick Hirsch was named managing editor in charge of The Miami Herald’s multimedia operations in July, overseeing the newspaper’s web site, Herald.com, as well as its broadcast news operations, which include radio, podcasting and television. Hirsch started his career as a reporter at The Herald almost 26 years ago. As an editor, he has supervised The Herald’s coverage of local government, public and private schools, Hurricane Andrew and its aftermath. Reporters under his supervision have won the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Gold Medal, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for public service (1993) and the Pulitzer Prize for commentary (1995).

Chris Jennewein is vice president of internet operations for The Union-Tribune Publishing Co., which publishes The San Diego Union-Tribune and its Web site, SignOnSanDiego.com. He is also a member of the Knight Digital Media Center’s advisory board. Before joining The Union-Tribune in 2001, he was vice president of operations for Knight Ridder Digital in San Jose, CA. Under Jennewein’s leadership, Knight Ridder introduced the nation’s first complete online newspaper at the San Jose Mercury News in 1993. Considered a pioneer in New Media, Jennewein held multiple editing and management positions at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn. and The Tampa Tribune where he started his career, Jennewein is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania (B.A. and M.A.) and the London School of Economics (M.S.).

Tim Lott has been assistant managing editor/Internet at the Austin (TX) American-Statesman for two years, overseeing the content of two Web sites -- statesman.com and austin360.com. In addition, he also has general responsibilities for online strategy and audience growth. Lott has worked at the newspaper since 1989 as a beat reporter, metro editor, sports editor and executive features editor. Before joining the American-Statesman, he worked for the Associated Press.

Sandra Mims Rowe has been editor of The Oregonian in Portland, OR., since 1993. She previously spent 22 years at The Virginian-Pilot and The Ledger-Star where she rose to executive editor and vice president at the combined papers in 1984, a post she held until moving on to Portland. On her watch, the papers won the Pulitzer Prize for general news reporting in 1985. Also, under her leadership, The Oregonian has won three Pulitzer Prizes and been a finalist four additional times. The Oregonian won the prize for explanatory reporting in 1999 and, in 2001, both the feature writing prize and the Gold Medal for Public Service. Rowe also is a past president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Greg Moore has been editor of The Denver Post since 2002, moving from managing editor of The Boston Globe, a job he held for seven of the 16 years he spent at The Globe. During his tenure at The Globe, the newsroom produced16 Pulitzer Prize finalists and four award winners. Moore started his career in 1976 at the Dayton (OH) Journal Herald and moved to the Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1980. From 1998 to 2004, he served on the board of directors of the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Rick Rodriguez has been executive editor and senior vice president of The Sacramento (CA) Bee since June 1998, having risen through the ranks after joining the paper in November 1982 as a political writer in the paper's state Capitol Bureau. Prior to becoming executive editor, Rodriguez was managing editor for five years. Rodriguez is a long-time board member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and was the organization’s first Latino president in 2005-2006. He joined The Sacramento Bee from another McClatchy newspaper, The Fresno Bee. He began his career with his hometown newspaper, The Salinas Californian. Rodriguez graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in communications. He also attended Hartnell Community College.

Julia Wallace was named the first women editor of The Atlanta Journal and Constitution in 2002, the newsroom where she started her career as an intern 25 years ago. She returned to the AJC as managing editor in 2001 after two years in that role at the Arizona Republic. Her career has taken her to roles as a reporter and editor at the Virginian Pilot-Ledger Star, USA Today, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore. In 2005, she was named “Editor of the Year” by Editor and Publisher. She is a graduate of Northwestern University.

Carolyn Washburn joined The Des Moines Register as vice president and editor in September 2005. A native Midwestern, Washburn started her career as a business reporter and business editor. She covered Oldsmobile in Lansing, Michigan and Eastman Kodak Co. in Rochester, N.Y. She was an assistant managing editor and managing editor at the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, and managing editor and executive editor of The Idaho Statesman in Boise, Idaho. She is active in the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the Associated Press Managing Editors.

Jim Willse has been editor of The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., for 10 years. Prior to that, he was director of new media for Newhouse newspapers, editor and publisher of the New York Daily News, and managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner. The National Press Association named Willse its 1999 recipient of the George Beveridge Editor of the Year Award in recognition of The Star-Ledger's coverage of racial profiling by the New Jersey State Police. In 2005, the Star-Ledge won the Breaking News Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the resignation of New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey.

Karin Winner is vice president and editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune. She was named to the position in 1995, after spending almost 20 years in successive management positions at the news organization, including overseeing the merger of the morning Union and afternoon Tribune in 1991. Prior to joining the Union-Tribune, Winner was the West Coast editor of Women’s Wear Daily for seven years, during which time she helped create “W” magazine. Under her editorship, the Union-Tribune and the Copley News Service shared a Pulitzer Prize in National Affairs Reporting for coverage of bride-taking by Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham. Winner will serve on the 2006 Pulitzer Prize Jury for 2007, the fifth year she has served as juror. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

John Yemma is deputy managing editor of The Boston Globe for multimedia. His duties include managing the editorial-content staff of Boston.com and working with The Boston Globe newsroom to put more of its content online. This position has included leading efforts to build multimedia packages, blogs, podcasts, and other online treatments as well as playing a role in the development of local search and community publishing initiatives. Before taking on the multimedia role in late 2005, Yemma concentrated on enterprise stories and special projects. In 1999, Yemma and his colleague Dan Golden won the 65th annual Headliner's Award for beat coverage for their examination of Harvard University. Yemma also was editor of the 1999 Polk Award-winning series on abuse of mental patients by medical researchers. He has worked in various posts for the Dallas Morning News, UPI, The Globe, and the Christian Science Monitor. In 1994 he was a Reuter Fellow at Oxford. He is a graduate of the University of Texas.

Fred Zipp has spent 25 years in daily newspaper journalism, the last four as managing editor of the Austin (TX) American-Statesman. He began his career in Beaumont, Texas, and has also worked in West Palm Beach, Fla. Zipp graduated from Duke University in 1977 with degrees in history and French.