The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The AJC announces hiring of a new Opinion Editor
Washington Post veteran Jamie Riley to lead revamp of the section.
Jamie Riley, a veteran journalist with a passion for opinion journalism, has been named The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s new Opinion Editor.
Riley joins the organization as it is making a substantial investment in its newsroom. The AJC is expanding key beats, hiring new reporters and opening new bureaus across the state.
This year, it also plans to revamp its Opinion section to highlight a broader range of voices on a wider variety of topics.
Last month, for example, the AJC announced that it had added new political contributors to its Opinion pages, such as former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux and former Fulton County Commissioner John Eaves. It will be adding even more experienced political voices on both sides of the aisle in the coming months.
“Researched, reasoned, informed and artfully written opinion can help clarify the day’s news. Or it can make you laugh. Or think differently. It has an impact,” Riley said.
“We’re hoping to bring more people into that conversation,” she added. “We aim to capture the extraordinary voices from across the South to inform and engage readers in both traditional and new ways.
Riley began her journalism career at her hometown newspaper, the Belleville News-Democrat, in Belleville, Illinois, and spent nearly 17 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In 2013, she joined The Washington Post, where she edited the newspaper’s letters to the editor and solicited and edited local guest essays. Along the way, she added national writers, online chats and newsletters to her editing portfolio.
Over the next several months, the AJC plans to re-imagine its opinion coverage, and Riley will play a key role in that transformation. She wants to focus her efforts on digital storytelling, looking for opportunities to bring opinion content to life across the news organization’s digital platforms.
“We want to reach readers where they are,” Riley said, “and delight and inform them in meaningful and memorable ways.”
As the AJC’s opinion coverage evolves, it will be sharing more with subscribers — and seeking their input.
In the meantime, Riley is looking forward to calling Atlanta her new home. She has been visiting family in the Atlanta area since the early 1990s, and her daughter is an Emory University graduate.
“Atlanta is one of America’s great and vibrant cities,” Riley said. “Its people — and the people of the South — are brimming with ideas. This is where we want those ideas to grow and bloom.”
Riley officially began her role last week, and she replaces Andre Jackson, who had been guiding the AJC’s opinion coverage since 2009. Jackson retired earlier this year.