Bobbie Roessner Named News Honcho For Hearst Connecticut

The Connecticut Post is part of Hearst Connecticut Media Group’s four daily newspapers. Bobbie Roessner will lead the editorial direction. Don’t ya just love canned corporate statements from journalists? From Hearst:

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and former managing editor of the Hartford Courant Bobbie Roessner has been named as editorial director of Hearst’s Connecticut Media Group and David McCumber will become the company’s Washington bureau chief, the company announced Monday.

The Connecticut Media Group includes four daily newspapers–the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport; the News-Times in Danbury; The Advocate in Stamford and the Greenwich Time–and seven non-daily newspapers and affiliated websites.

Roessner, who was managing editor at the Courant from 2006-09, was part of a coverage team that won a Pulitzer Prize for breaking news 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.

McCumber, a former managing editor of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, had been the editorial director in Connecticut and editor of The Advocate and Greenwich Time since 2009.

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).

Current Washington Bureau Chief Richard Dunham will take on a full-time writing assignment and will report to McCumber.

The moves were announced Monday morning by Hearst Newspapers President Mark Aldam.

“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 reporting–she will be a great leader for our papers in Connecticut.”

Aldam said the company is counting on McCumber’s investigative expertise.

“David did an excellent job of networking our Connecticut newspapers while preserving each of their local missions and identities,” Aldam said. We are counting on his enterprise experience to greatly improve our Washington Bureau’s unique contributions to each of our local newspapers.”

Roessner 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.

She 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 most–public service journalism,” Roessner said.

McCumber said he is looking forward to the changes.

“Hearst Connecticut newspapers are in great hands with Bobbie Roessner,” he said.

“I’m thrilled about my new assignment and looking forward to producing some great journalism.”

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