The Indiana Publisher

May 2020 Page 3 Staff Reports Evansville Courier & Press Two veteran editors will lead Gannett's news organizations in southern and northern Indiana, bringing together a powerhouse of journalists that collectively make up the state's largest newsgathering operation. Last fall's merger of Gannett and GateHouse brought together news operations in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville, South Bend and multiple other communities across the state. Restructuring the leadership will help the news organizations continue to probe and elevate coverage of local issues, produce impactful journalism across Indiana and help build on the expanded footprint across the state, including the IndyStar, said Katrice Hardy, Regional Editor for the Midwest and editor of The IndyStar. Michael McCarter, the executive editor of the Evans- ville Courier & Press, and Alan Achkar, executive editor of the South Bend Tribune, will partner to oversee the opera- tions and editorial functions of most of Gannett's media sites across the state, outside of Indianapolis. McCarter will work with all of the news operations in the southern half of Indiana. Achkar will take on added oversight of Gannett- owned properties in the northern half of the state. In addition to the Evansville publication, McCarter will work with editors and reporters in Bloomington, Spencer, Martins- ville, Paoli, French Lick and Bedford, Indiana, as well as Henderson and Union County, Kentucky. Achkar will continue to oversee South Bend, and will now work with staff in Lafay- ette, Muncie and Richmond. McCarter, prior to becoming the editor in Evansville, worked for 10 years at the Cincinnati Enquirer. Prior to that assign- ment, he held several positions at the Atlanta Journal-Constitu- tion and the Shreveport (LA) Times. Achkar has been the editor of the Tribune for the past six years and previously worked at the Cleveland Plain Dealer and St. Louis Post-Dis- patch. "As we continue the process of merging our two great media companies, I want to assure the readers of all of our publications that our commitment to serving our local communi- ties remains steadfast," McCarter said. "We will continue to elevate the quality of our local journalism along with our investigative and watchdog reporting. We will leverage the reporting strength of the collective team to bring additional context to the topics that resonate in our region." Stephen Crane, who has led the Martinsville Reporter-Times and Mooresville-Decatur Times since 2017, will now lead the Bloomington Herald-Times newsroom, continuing its long tradition of first-rate community journalism. Crane is a veteran journalist and Morgan County native. He has a master's degree in journalism from Indiana University and has worked as a journalist in Wyoming and California. "Serving the public good is the driving force of strong journalism," Crane said. "The overarching goal is to keep residents informed of all the critical issues their community faces. I look forward to pursuing that mission in Bloomington." Miles Flynn, a longtime reporter at the Springs Valley Herald and Paoli News-Repub- lican and editor of both publica- tions since 2015, will lead the Bedford Times-Mail newsroom. Flynn has a proven commitment to community journalism. He served as program director and morning show host at the WBIW radio station in Bedford for several years. "Having spent my entire life in the region, it is an honor to serve now in a new role," Flynn said. "It's also a privilege to work with the fine news staffs in those communities. I will do everything I can to live up to the outstanding reputation these publications have earned." Under Achkar's leadership, the Tribune has twice been named Indiana's best newspaper and partnered with ProPublica on a year-long series of stories as part of the organization's Local Reporting Network. Achkar said he looks forward to working with editors in nearby newsrooms and learning more about the trends and issues in their communities, including those affecting Purdue and Ball State universities. Gannett is the country's largest media organization and includes more than 260 publica- tions. McCarter Achkar Veteran editors McCarter, Achkar to lead Gannett's news organizations in southern, northern Indiana Connect with us. Follow HSPA on Twitter. @OurRight2Know Crane named editor of Herald-Times; Flynn tapped to run Times-Mail

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