McClatchy, owner of the Miami Herald, has named Monica Richardson Senior managing editor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution its first Black executive editor of US newspaper Miami Herald.
She rewrites the Florida newspaper’s 117-year history. A 30-year veteran of the news business, with expertise in Metro reporting and a specialization in digital news, the company said in a statement.
“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 Spanish-language edition 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.”
Richardson succeeds Aminda Marques Gonzalez.
During her 30-year career, Richardson has worked at the Charlottesville Observer, Florida Times-Union, and Lexington Herald-Leader. She has spent the last 15 years in Atlanta, where she served as the newspaper’s digital managing editor before her promotion in 2018 to senior managing editor.
Richardson is a single mother raising an adopted eight-year-old daughter.
Roberts and Miami Herald President Nancy A Meyer wrote in an email to the staff that Richardson’s hiring is an “important milestone” for the paper.
“I don’t take that lightly,” Richardson said. “It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my family. It means a lot to my ancestors. I’ll step into those shoes and work hard.”
