Bill Church of Herald-Tribune named SE regional editor for GateHouse

Bill Church, editor of the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune, has been named Southeast regional editor for GateHouse Media.

Church will continue to serve as the executive editor of the Herald-Tribune while also working with GateHouse Media newspapers throughout the Southeast on shared coverage, recruiting and training.

"Now that GateHouse Media's portfolio includes many outstanding newspapers in the Southeast, we have a great opportunity to share content and create products in those states and the region as a whole," said Bernie Szachara, senior vice president for GateHouse Media, who oversees the company's newspapers in the Southeast. "Bill will play an important role in helping us establish and then execute on these opportunities."

He will coordinate investigative news projects, as well as college sports and political coverage, for GateHouse Media's Southeast papers. He will also work with executives at the Center for News & Design in Austin, Texas, on national recruiting and company-wide content initiatives. 

"Bill has a reputation in the industry as an innovative leader who has proven over and over again that he understands how to help newsrooms evolve," said David Arkin, senior vice president of content & product development for GateHouse Media. "I'm excited to partner with Bill as we build out our coverage plans in the Southeast." 

Church joined the Herald-Tribune in January 2013, after spending almost 23 years in editorial positions at Gannett newspapers in Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, New York and Oregon. He spent six-plus years as executive editor of the Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore., prior to going to Sarasota. Both the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Salem Statesman Journal won numerous national awards during his tenure. The Herald-Tribune was recently named to Editor & Publisher magazine's 2015 list of 10 Newspapers That Do It Right.

"Bill has taken a newsroom, with an already strong reputation for excellence, and really raised the bar. He creates an environment that encourages journalists to think bigger and present stories in bolder and more creative ways," said Pat Dorsey, publisher of the Herald-Tribune.

Church has been active nationally in the journalism field. He was named a McCormick Fellow in 2006, elected to the APME national board in 2011 and has been a longtime member of the Asian American Journalists Association. In 2010, he received the national Robert G. McGruder Diversity Leadership award.

"I'm excited to work with our many talented journalists in the Southeast," Church said. "We have big opportunities in places like Florida and North Carolina to work together on projects that have local relevance and impact residents in those states. Together, we can evolve our products and our journalism."