Business News
HEARST NEWSPAPERS NAMES BARBARA T. ROESSNER EXECUTIVE EDITOR OF HEARST CONNECTICUT NEWSPAPERS; DAVID MCCUMBER NAMED WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF
Tuesday 24. July 2012 - Hearst Newspapers announced today that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barbara T. Roessner has been named executive editor of Hearst Connecticut Newspapers and David McCumber has been named Washington bureau chief. The announcements were made by Mark E. Aldam, president, Hearst Newspapers. The appointments are effective August 1.
As executive editor of Hearst Connecticut Newspapers, Roessner will oversee all editorial content and initiatives at Hearst’s four dailies in the state (Connecticut Post in Bridgeport, The News-Times in Danbury, The Advocate in Stamford and Greenwich Time) and seven weekly newspapers in Fairfield County.
Current Washington Bureau Chief Richard Dunham will take on a full-time writing assignment and will report to McCumber, who has been editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time and editorial director of the Connecticut group since 2009.
“We are thrilled to have such a seasoned media executive and award-winning journalist like Barbara join the Hearst Newspapers team,” Aldam said. “She has an impressive track record of upgrading the quality of enterprise reportingshe will be a great leader for our papers in Connecticut.”
Aldam added, “David did an excellent job of networking our Connecticut newspapers while preserving each of their local missions and identities. We are counting on his enterprise experience to greatly improve our Washington Bureau’s unique contributions to each of our local newspapers.”
Roessner was managing editor of the Hartford Courant from 2006 to 2009. She began at the Courant in 1978 as a beat reporter and served as chief political writer, opinion columnist, writing coach and deputy managing editor overseeing investigative and enterprise reporting. In 1999, Roessner was part of the Courant team that received the Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News for its coverage of workplace killings at the Connecticut State Lottery headquarters. She also directed investigative and enterprise efforts that were finalists for a Pulitzer in 2007, 2003 and 2001, and has received many other prestigious awards for her journalism. Roessner has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and was a Knight Fellow at Stanford University from 2003 to 2004.
Most recently, she worked as a strategic communications consultant, developing and implementing communications and marketing strategy for educational and non-profit institutions, including Harvard University and the Aspen Institute.
“I’m honored and grateful for the opportunity to get back to doing what I love mostpublic service journalism,” Roessner said.
Before his Connecticut post, McCumber was managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. McCumber joined the P-I in 1999 as senior editor for projects and has more than 30 years of experience in journalism at more than 10 newspapers. He is a former executive editor of the Santa Barbara News-Press and former Sunday editor, city editor and assistant managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner. McCumber was a finalist for a Pulitzer for Special Local Reporting in 1984. He is the author of four books, including X-Rated: The Mitchell Brothers (Simon & Schuster), which was made into a Showtime movie; Playing off the Rail (Random House); and The Cowboy Way: Seasons of a Montana Ranch (Avon).
The Hearst Washington Bureau also oversees the Hearst News Service, which is a partner on the New York Times News Service and goes to some 500 news outlets around the world.