SVP of GateHouse news, Bill Church, adds Statesman editor-in-chief to title

Bill Church

GateHouse Media, LLC has announced that Bill Church has added the role of Austin American-Statesman editor-in-chief to his responsibilities as GateHouse Media's senior vice president of news. Church, a respected industry veteran, known for his visionary leadership, has served in his current role since 2016.

"Leading one of the largest newsrooms among GateHouse's 470 daily and weekly publications demands innovation, passion and a commitment to journalism with impact," said Kirk Davis, GateHouse CEO. "Bill's brand of boundary-pushing journalism is an ideal fit for Austin, and in his dual role as Statesman editor-in-chief and GateHouse senior vice president of news, Bill is committed to transforming our existing newsroom models into agile, audience-engaged teams."

In the role of senior vice president news, Church guides GateHouse Media's news strategy and leads the Center for News & Design, which offers a broad range of content services to the company's newspapers and commercial clients and serves as a leader and change agent within the design community. Previously, Church served as executive editor of the company's award-winning Sarasota Herald-Tribune, which received the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for its year-long collaboration with the Tampa Bay Times detailing the horrific conditions in Florida's mental hospitals.

"I am very excited to work with Bill again after our very successful time together at the Herald-Tribune in Sarasota," said Pat Dorsey, publisher of the Austin American-Statesman and regional vice president for GateHouse Media. "He has a well-earned reputation as an innovative and collaborative leader with a passion for impactful community journalism. I look forward to matching his passion and vision with the already high performing news team at the Austin American-Statesman to take our journalism to new heights and best serve the Austin community."

Church is a former president of Associated Press Media Editors, a 2016 Knight Visiting Nieman Fellow at Harvard and a two-time Pulitzer jurist. Church has been a longtime member of the Asian American Journalists Association and received the national Robert G. McGruder Diversity Leadership award in 2010. Church was named a McCormick Fellow in 2006.