Maria DeVarenne has been vice president/news for 10 years at The Press-Enterprise, an A.H. Belo-owned daily in Riverside, Calif., The Tennessean says in a story today.
However, she was "an editor in several GCI-owned news operations in the 1990s, including the San Bernardino Sun,'' the story says. She starts Dec. 26.
The Sun's weekday circulation is 57,415; Nashville's weekday circulation is 120,805, while Riverside's is 112,084.
DeVarenne replaces Mark Silverman, who three months ago joined the staff of Corporate's News Department, where his duties include training on the new Passion Topics initiative.
[Photo: California State University, Fullerton]
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| DeVarenne |
DeVarenne replaces Mark Silverman, who three months ago joined the staff of Corporate's News Department, where his duties include training on the new Passion Topics initiative.
[Photo: California State University, Fullerton]
GCI still owns part of the San Bernardino paper; GCI merged the daily into its California Newspapers Partnership with MediaNews Group in March 1999 in exchange for a partnership interest.
ReplyDeleteJust what the Tennessean needs, a top editor who doesn't know the town, the South or the SEC. Sure, it's happened many times before in every chain, but when a paper like the Tennessean has fallen so far, nothing like having someone at the top who knows the history of the place and knowledge about its institutions and players. Gannett should have been able to poach a highly qualified editor from one of the other state papers.
ReplyDeleteYou listed the Sun's daily circ, the Press-Enterprise daily is ~120,000. Close to Nashville's.
ReplyDelete4:19 Thank you. I've now added Riverside's information.
ReplyDelete(I had the Sun more on my mind because it took quite a while to figure out when and how it sort of left Gannett.)
I worked with Maria in the early '90s when she was the first business editor at the new Gannett daily in North Hills (PA). She was very smart and picked up on local history quickly. She was a terrific content editor, and her staff -- and her managers -- respected her enormously.
ReplyDeleteNashville's getting a good leader.
Maria is a news pro, reasonable and fair. She's no pushover, but will surely be a breath of fresh air after the horror show that is Mark Silverman.
ReplyDeleteAt least she actually might live in the city. Silverman was a commuter editor. Now if they actually had a publisher who could commit to full-time life in Nashville, that would be a start.
ReplyDeleteSilverman was a commuter editor, but that was the least of his, um, multitude of problems that he created for himself.
ReplyDeleteGood luck to DeVarenne, got a lot of work to do in this growing and exciting city with a shredded newsroom. Tennesseans don't take to well to outsiders reporting on their way of life good luck. Hope she can get more out of that staff here than Silverman. Actually, was hoping a current Gannett EE way south of here would have returned to Tenn that would have been a good fit.
ReplyDeleteBe interesting to watch DeVarenne's plans unfold, hey she could be taking over worse situations - like Cincinnati or Detroit.
Well, she's used to laying off people. Editors used to be editors. Now they're hatchet men and women who publicly say the future is bright but privately are willing to do anything to hang on until they can retire.
ReplyDeletehttp://reporter-g.blogspot.com/2011/11/layoffs-at-press-enterprise.html
Comments include someone noting that a very ill person was laid off.
Yikes, 4:34! I just went on that link and read some not-so-nice things about DeVarenne. Is Nashville getting another Silverman-type personality? OMG.
ReplyDeleteIt might be homework time?
ReplyDeletehttp://reporter-g.blogspot.com/2011/12/press-enterprise-editor-heads-to.html