MIAMI (AP) – McClatchy has named Monica R. Richardson to lead its newsrooms in Florida, becoming the Miami Herald’s first Black executive editor in the newspaper’s 117-year history, the company said Monday in a statement.
Richardson, who is currently the senior managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, will join the Miami Herald on Jan. 1, the newspaper reported. She has expertise in metro reporting and a specialization in digital news.
“We are thrilled to welcome Monica to Miami,” Kristin Roberts, McClatchy’s senior vice president of news, said in a statement. “She has a strong record of leadership in local journalism at one of the great metro newsrooms in the country. Now, she brings her commitment to accountability journalism and a track record of successful digital innovation that serves local audiences.”
Richardson, 50, will focus on growing the company’s audience and digital subscriptions, the company said. She will also oversee el Nuevo Herald and the Bradenton Herald, and operate as McClatchy’s Florida regional editor.
“I’m pleased to be working in a newsroom where journalism is the core mission of everything. That’s what drives me in my career. It’s the passion,” she said. “I wouldn’t be coming to Miami if I didn’t see that passion for journalism.”