New editor named at Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Steve Coffman

McClatchy (NYSE MNI) on March 15 named Steve Coffman as editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Coffman has been editor of The Wichita Eagle/Kansas.com since August 2016.

“In two years at The Eagle, Steve has championed high-quality accountability journalism that resonates with readers in the digital era,” said Tim Grieve, vice president of news for Sacramento-based McClatchy.

Before arriving at The Eagle, Coffman was editor of The Jackson Sun in Jackson, Tennessee for 10 years and worked prior to that in leadership roles at The Fayetteville Observer and The Finger Lakes Times in Geneva, N.Y., where he began his career as a reporter.

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Coffman replaces Lauren Gustus, who was at the Star-Telegram for about nine months before being promoted to regional editor by McClatchy.

McClatchy also announced that it had named Mike Fannin as regional editor for the Midwest Region. Fannin, currently executive editor and vice president of The Kansas City Star, will continue to lead the The Kansas City Star and oversee three additional newsrooms including The Wichita Eagle in Kansas, the Belleville News-Democrat in Illinois, and the Star-Telegram.

“Under his leadership, The Star has produced some of most powerful journalism in the company and in the country, from last year’s Why So Secret, Kansas?, which is forcing change in how state government works, to this month’s disturbing series on Missouri’s child brides,” said Grieve.

The company also announced that Gustus, regional editor for McClatchy’s West Region, will now also oversee its four newsrooms in Washington State including The News Tribune in Tacoma; The Olympian in Olympia; The Bellingham Herald and the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, in addition to The Sacramento Bee, The Fresno Bee, The Modesto Bee, The Merced Sun-Star, The Tribune in San Luis Obispo, Calif., and The Idaho Statesman in Boise.