SND/Update

SND friends,

I want to thank all of you for your support over the past year while I was president of the Society. When I reflect on the Society I am amazed at the resilience, the adaptability, and the talent that is present. Everyone is so incredibly busy and short-staffed. There are so many challenges through the industry that took a toll on many of you. You have given so much to the Society through time, energy, perseverance and creativity. I am so very grateful to you.

Lance C. Johnson, right, a Waterford, Conn., freelance editor and designer, has been named the new editor of the 30th Edition of The Best of Newspaper Design™, SND’s annual winners’ book, according to Marshall Matlock, director of the Society’s annual creative competition, which is co-sponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

We caught up with Monty Cook, who was named the next editor of The Baltimore Sun on Monday. Cook takes over on Jan. 1 from Tim Franklin, who will start a sports journalism center at Indiana University, his alma mater, and hold an endowed chair. Cook talked with us about what it’s like to be a top newsroom leader with a visual journalism history, how that positions him for what’s ahead, and how things may look in Baltimore next year as the paper starts sharing content with The Washington Post. Full interview follows…

Longtime visual journalism leader Monty Cook has been named to the top editor spot at The Baltimore Sun. Cook has also worked at the Orlando Sentinel and The Washington Post. He was the mastermind behind The Sun’s recent redesign and has taken on several other high profile readership projects.

The Chicago Tribune has shaken up its top visual staff. There are new roles for Steve Cavendish, Stephan Benzkofer, Jonathon Berlin, Chuck Burke and others in a memo sent this afternoon by Joe Knowles, AME/Presentation at the Trib. Cavendish moves to the role of Presentation Editor. Benzkofer is the Senior News Editor. Berlin becomes the Design and Graphics Editor. Burke takes the position of Features Design Editor. Full memo with all the changes follows.

The design firm IDEO has been the subject of a lot of talk in the last week because of its involvement with the changes in Detroit. BusinessWeek posed questions to Tim Brown, IDEO’s CEO, in a video posted today. The questions are about the company’s overall philosophy, not the work it’s been doing in Detroit. Check it out, though, to learn more about IDEO and the design thinking approach.

Society President Gayle Grin announced this week that Scott Griffin will be the new regional director for the Northeast region in the United States. Griffin is the Design Editor of the Republican-American in Waterbury, Conn. “Scott has already proven himself as a dedicated member of the Society, having chaired a Quick Course this past spring and written for the small paper issue of Design magazine,” Grin said in making the appointment.

Chris Courtney is leaving his job as design director for RedEye, the successful free Tribune tabloid in Chicago that he’s helped build into one of the country’s design standouts. Courtney will make the leap to interactive design, taking on a new gig at Tribune Interactive as a senior designer. He’ll also be an editorial consultant for Tribune Niche Products, which is the group that includes Hoy, Metromix and TribLocal, as well as RedEye. Update caught up with him over the weekend to ask a few questions about what it’s like to move away from print.

A new two-day graphics workshop, organized by Jeff Goertzen of The Denver Post, is slated for Feb. 27 and 28 in Muncie, Ind. Check out what’s happening at Ball State in February. With the emergence of multimedia software, it’s easy to get caught up with all the latest gadgetry. Animation and interactivity can do some amazing things. But when it comes to informational graphics, the fundamental principles of journalism cannot be forgotten — research, writing, editing and design. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced graphics reporter, this workshop will help you improve your journalistic and artistic skills. Register now.

The Detroit Free Press published a rare front page editorial about the bailout of the ailing U.S. auto industry. The editorial, a direct plea to the lawmakers considering the plan, carries the headline “Invest in America” and makes a visual statement as a single-subject front. The page, designed by Robert Huschka and illustrated by Eric Millikin, harkens to old-time newspaper advocacy, when papers would take up causes important to their cities. Obviously, the loan to the troubled auto giants appears crucial to Detroit’s very survival. The plan has lasting nationwide effects, as well. Was this bold treatment too much or does it feel right given the severity of the situation? The first two sentences of the Free Press’ special “Message to Washington” editorial read: “You don’t want an economic disaster on your hands. Not when you could have prevented it.”