Arizona Daily Star executive editor departs for new role

About my new gig: As of today, I am the Senior Reporter for Lee Enterprises. That means I’ll be reporting and writing a variety of stories, including investigative projects, narrative writing, profiles and whatever else comes along.  I’ll be doing this in ways that benefit readers in Tucson and throughout the country.

It’s an amazing chance, and it allows me to spend some time in harness as a reporter, which I haven’t been able to do for a very long time. I’ll be working on my own stories (reporters always believe the best antidote to a story assignment from an editor is to have a better story of your own choosing in progress). I’ll also be teaming to do other stories with reporters at various Lee properties (Lee Enterprises includes more than 70 newspapers and websites nationwide) and I’ve been asked to do some coaching and mentoring, as well.

Not only do I anticipate that most of my stories will be published on Tucson.com, but I also hope to collaborate with some of the amazingly talented reporters on the Star’s staff, for joint projects.

Bonus: I get to stay in Tucson, so I’m most pleased about that.

Winding up my third tour of duty at the Arizona Daily Star is a welter of mixed emotions. As excited as I am about my new job — it’s a dream — I love the Star, always have since I first walked in the door in 1978, and always will. I have very much enjoyed helping to chart its path and helping reporters produce some of the very best journalism done anywhere in the country over the past three years-plus.

I want to thank all of my colleagues, from those who distribute the newspaper every morning up the ladder to Joel Rohlik, our general manager. I’m very grateful to the advertisers who choose the Star, Tucson.com and thisistucson.com as vehicles to tell their stories. Thanks, too, to my editorial advisory board, who have helped me immeasurably in my quest to help make this wonderful place even better.