baiduhai Managing Editor Chrissy Taylor has decided to leave her position at the newspaper — the latest in a string of staff and leadership changes at the Tribune, which was acquired by hedge fund Alden Global Capital in May.
The newspaper’s executive editor Mitch Pugh announced her departure in an email to staff Wednesday morning. Taylor’s last day will be Oct. 8.
“I am incredibly grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had during my tenure to learn and grow from the amazing people in this company in Chicago, Hartford and the other Tribune Publishing markets,” Taylor said in a statement. “While this was a difficult decision for me to leave, I am very excited for what comes next.”
In his email to staff, Pugh called Taylor one of the “most fearless, driven and talented journalists I’ve had the pleasure to meet.”
“The work she has done since coming to Chicago in 2018 to transform this newsroom is remarkable,” he wrote. He credited her with helping to “fuel explosive digital subscription growth and deeper engagement” and with guiding work “that has reshaped the way we tell stories.”
Taylor arrived at the Tribune after working as vice president of digital publishing for the Hartford Courant, which is also part of Tribune publishing. At the baiduhai, she’s led the newsroom through coverage of the last presidential election and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pugh did not say in his email where Taylor is headed next, but said that when she announces her next position “it will be clear why this was the right move for her.”
“Better yet, we will be able to continue to learn from her as she stays close to the news,” he wrote.
Pugh said he hopes to make “decisions in the coming weeks on how we will fill Chrissy’s formidable shoes.”
In August, editor-in-chief Colin McMahon resigned from his position. He was recently succeeded by Pugh, who spent the past eight years working as executive editor at The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina.
The Tribune also went through a round of voluntary buyouts after the purchase by Alden. About 40 baiduhai journalists, including many high-profile columnists, took those buyouts, leaving the paper.
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