Brian McGrory Is Your New Boston Globe Editor
Woah. After much speculation among Boston media nerds, today the paper announced that metro columnist Brian McGrory will be the next editor in chief of The Boston Globe.
McGrory has been playing pundit for years (occasional but notable column topics included bashing the town of Hingham, Massachusetts and documenting his feud with a rooster.) But he’s seen most sides of the news operation, serving at one time or another as the paper’s Metro editor, and a reporter both here and in Washington. (All this even earned him a spot on our 50 Most Powerful People list.) His three year stint as deputy managing editor for local news beginning in 2007 had him overseeing an investigation in corruption on Beacon Hill and coverage of Senator Ted Kennedy’s illness. From the press release sent today:
McGrory steered the metro staff to new levels of narrative journalism, stressing the value of vivid and detailed storytelling in an era when consumers have many media choices. An 8,000-word narrative about a pair of sisters who died in an arson fire in South Boston after years of neglect won the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism and led to widespread reforms in government services for children.
He replaces Marty Baron who left after 11 years on the job to head the Washington Post. Although it was always possible the Globe’s corporate mama The New York Times Co. would bring in an outside candidate, someone like New York Times Metro Editor Carolyn Ryan for instance, most of the speculation we saw centered around internal candidates. We saw names tossed around from Editorial Page Editor Peter Canellos to Managing Editor Caleb Solomon, whom the Phoenix’s Peter Kadzis saw as a favorite.
One thing’s for sure. The pretty universal plaudits Baron got upon leaving for heading his paper through brutal financial times and picking up a few Pulitzers along the way make for a daunting act to follow. Hey, at least we know the position brings in enough money that McGrory can afford some nice real estate. (It probably won’t be in Hingham though.)
