NEWSPEOPLE

New hires, promotions and relocations acrosstheindustry .................

Colleen Uechi has been promoted to managing editor of The Maui News in Hawaii following the departure of longtime editor Lee Imada. Uechi joined the Maui News in December 2015 after a yearlong internship and staff writer job with The Molokai Dispatch in Kaunakakai, Hawaii. Imada joined the Maui News as a sports intern before being hired permanently in 1981. He covered the police, courts, education and Haleakala National Park beats and designed pages for a decade until he was promoted to assistant news editor in 1991 and then news editor the following year. He held the role of managing editor from 2012 until his departure last November.

Steve Henson and Karen Vigil, two longtime editors of The Pueblo (Colo.) Chieftain, have retired. Henson started his career in news at KCSJ and KDJQFM radio stations in 1974, where he served as news director, news reporter and a disc jockey. In 1978, he was offered a reporter job at the Chieftain and climbed the ranks as assistant city editor, news editor, regional editor, sports editor, city editor, managing editor, managing editor/editorial pages editor/ editorial writer; and managing editor/city editor. He was named editor in 2018. Vigil started at the Chieftain in 1988 as a reporter covering schools, police health and general assignments. She worked as night city editor for several years and recently was on the Chieftain’s editorial board along with Henson. With Henson and Vigil retiring, Luke Lyons will step in as interim news director.

Bill Smith has been named president and director of local sales and marketing for The Free Lance–star in Fredericksburg, Va. and the Culpeper (Va.) Star-exponent. Smith joined the Lance-star in 1996 as director of sales. Prior to that, he served in various sales capacities with both The Washington Post and Landmark Communications.

Katy Smith has been named business editor for The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. Smith interned at the Dispatch in 2002 during college. After graduation, she went to work for Suburban News Publications covering Columbus suburbs as a reporter and editor. She then worked for Columbus (Ohio) Business First, first as a copy editor and then, from 2013 to 2018, as managing editor for print.

Terry Tang has been named Op-ed and Sunday opinion editor for the Los Angeles Times. She replaces Sue Horton, who is moving to the newsroom as a senior editor but will continue to edit several Op-ed columnists. Tang joined the Times in 2019 from the American Civil Liberties Union, where she served as director of publications and editorial for two years. Before that, she worked at The New York Times for 20 years in a variety of roles. In the past, Tang has also worked as a reporter for the Seattle Weekly and the Seattle Times.

Sharif Durhams has been named managing editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C. and The Herald-sun in Durham, N.C., succeeding Jane Elizabeth, who has left the company. Durhams will oversee the day-to-day operations of a newsroom with 60 editors, reporters and visual journalists. Most recently, he worked at The Washington Post as night homepage editor.

Monica R. Richardson has been named executive editor of The Miami Herald. She succeeds Aminda Marqués González, who recently left the company after serving for 10 years. Richardson will be the first Black executive editor in the Herald’s 117-year history. She will also oversee el Nuevo Herald and the Bradenton Herald, and operate as Mcclatchy’s Florida regional editor. During her 30-year career, she worked at the Charlottesville (Va.) Observer, Florida Times-union, and Lexington (Ky.) Heraldleader. For the last 15 years, she has served at the Atlanta Journal-constitution as the paper’s digital managing editor before her promotion in 2018 to senior managing editor.

The Washington Post has named Siobhán O’grady as Cairo bureau chief. She joined the Post as a staff writer in 2018, covering foreign affairs. She began her career as a staff writer for Foreign Policy magazine, then spent 18 months freelancing across Africa for the Los Angeles Times, the Atlantic and other news outlets.

Paul M. Provost, senior vice president of multimedia strategy and sales for Gannett New England, is leaving the company after five years. He previously served as publisher and president of the Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Mass. when it was owned by Gatehouse Media Inc. Prior to his arrival in Worchester, Provost worked in New Jersey as vice president of local market operations for New Jersey Advance Media, part of Advance Digital Inc.

Barbara Leader, editor of the Monroe (La.) News Star, has been named executive editor of The Lafayette (La.) Daily Advertiser and the state editor for Gannett’s Louisiana newspapers. She has served as the News Star’s editor since 2017 and has been the interim news director for Lafayette and Opelousas since October. Leader joined Gannett 14 years ago as an education and investigative reporter for the News Star. Prior to becoming the News Star’s editor, Leader was the content coach at The Shreveport (La.) Times. In 2019, she took on regional responsibilities and became the editor overing the News Star, Times and The Town Talk in Alexandria.

The Washington Post has named Michelle Ye Hee Lee Tokyo bureau chief. She will move to Tokyo next summer and will take over as bureau chief in late August. For the last three years, she has served as a national political accountability and enterprise reporter, where she covered money and influence in politics, as well as voting access and election administration. She joined the Post in 2014 as a member of the Fact Checker team and prior to that, she worked at the Arizona Republic.

Mike Wilson has joined The New York Times as a deputy editor for enterprise. Most recently, he served as editor of The Dallas Morning News. His career also includes stints with The Tampa Bay Times, Miami Herald and Fivethirtyeight, where he was the founding managing editor.

Dimon Kendrick-holmes has been named editor of the Opelika-auburn (Ala.) News. He most recently worked at the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-enquirer, which he joined in May 2001 and left in June 2018. During his stint with the newspaper, he served a variety of roles, including features editor, metro editor and senior editor of projects and planning. From 2012-2018, he served as the Ledger-enquirer’s vice president and executive editor.

Bobby Rice, general manager of The Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News, has left his position to take over as publisher of The Troy (Ala.) Messenger, which is owned by Tuscaloosa-based Boone Newspapers. He was named president and director of Troy Publications Inc. and will serve as regional publisher of

Boone’s newspaper in Bainbridge, Ga. and group manager for Boone-managed Alabama newspapers in Andalusia, Atmore and Brewton, as well as those in the Georgia cities of Cordele and Americus. Previously, he spent 16 years with Gannett at various Southeast locations and came to the Tuscaloosa News in July 2018 as advertising director. He was promoted to general manager later that year. Rice replaces Stacy Graning, who served as publisher of the Messenger for more than 20 years.

Mc Nelly Torres has joined the Center for Public Integrity as an editor. She most recently worked as a freelance journalist, reporting and editing and training reporters and editors on data journalism and investigative reporting. Previously, she reported for NBC 6, a television station in Miami, Fla., the South Florida Sun-sentinel and the San Antonio (Texas) Express-news. She is also the cofounder and former associate director of the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.

Bill Barker, president and publisher of the Naples (Fla.) Daily News and regional president for Gannett in Florida, has departed the company as a result of Gannett’s continued efforts to consolidate its operations. Baker served as a regional president for Gannett in Florida as well as president and publisher of the Daily News and The News-press since 2016. Previously, he served as president and publisher of The Tampa Tribune and vice president of operations and circulation for Media General.

Shirley Carswell has been named executive director of the Dow Jones News Fund. For the past seven years, Carswell taught at Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communications. Before that, she had a 25-year career at The Washington Post. During most of her time there, Carswell served as a senior newsroom manager, and she was the youngest person

to be named an assistant managing editor when she was appointed and later became the first African American woman to be elevated to a masthead position as deputy managing editor. Before joining the Post, she worked for the Detroit (Mich.) Free Press, The Oakland (Mich.) Press, the Richmond (Va.) Timesdispatch and Gannett News Service.

Jeff Funk, publisher of the Enid (Okla.) News & Eagle since 2002, has retired. In addition to leading the News & Eagle and Enidnews.com, Funk was a senior publisher responsible for the Woodward News and Duncan Banner, publications also in Oklahoma and owned by CNHI. Funk came to the News & Eagle in 2001 as executive editor. Prior to coming to Enid, he had served in news or management positions in five other daily newspapers: the Hutchinson News and Parsons Sun in Kansas, and in Nebraska at the Grand Island Independent, North Platte Telegraph and Beatrice Daily Sun.

Chris Reen, publisher of The Gazette in Colorado Springs, has been named president and CEO of Clarity Media Group, the Denver-based owner of the newspaper. He will succeed Ryan Mckibben, who held the position since 2004 and who will now become Clarity Media’s company chairman. Reen will also remain as publisher of The Gazette and The Denver Gazette. Over a 30-year media industry career, Reen held executive positions in Oklahoma, New York, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The Washington Post has named Gerry Shih India bureau chief. Shih began his career as a James Reston reporting fellow as The New York Times. He later worked for the Bay Citizen and then Reuters, covering California politics and Silicon Valley. He has reported from China for the past six years, including two with the Post.