Jonathan Weber to Leave The Bay Citizen, Steve Fainaru Appointed Interim Editor-in-Chief

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Bay Citizen announced today that Jonathan Weber is stepping down as Editor-in-Chief. Steve Fainaru, The Bay Citizen's current Managing Editor of News, will take over as interim Editor-in-Chief.  

"As our first Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan brought passion, insight and tremendous expertise to The Bay Citizen," said Lisa Frazier, President and CEO of The Bay Citizen. "He has built a strong editorial foundation that positions us well for future growth." 

"It's been an honor to be a part of this effort to revitalize local journalism in the Bay Area," said Weber. "The Bay Citizen has assembled a tremendously talented group of people and I will always remain a member and avid supporter of the organization."  Weber is leaving The Bay Citizen to pursue another opportunity.

Fainaru, a Bay Area native and former Washington Post reporter who won the Pulitzer Prize for his reporting from Iraq, has led The Bay Citizen's award-winning news team since its launch.

"I am proud to be leading The Bay Citizen into this next phase after what has been an incredibly successful first year," Fainaru said. "We look forward to providing more innovative and ground-breaking coverage of the Bay Area, and fulfilling our mission of producing vibrant civic journalism for the region."

Jeanne Carstensen, who was formerly Managing Editor of Salon and is currently The Bay Citizen's Managing Editor, has been appointed interim Executive Managing Editor. She will oversee The Bay Citizen's culture coverage and editorial product design.

Fainaru and Carstensen will work closely together to produce the Bay Area report of The New York Times, which appears each Friday and Sunday.

"Steve and Jeanne bring tremendous leadership to our team with their depth and breadth of experience and passion for local journalism in the Bay Area," Frazier said. "They have played a key role in The Bay Citizen's growth and success and will continue to do so in their expanded roles."

ABOUT THE BAY CITIZEN:

The Bay Citizen is a nonprofit, nonpartisan member-supported news organization that provides in-depth original reporting on Bay Area issues including public policy, education, the arts and cultural affairs, health and science, the environment, and more.  The Bay Citizen's news can be found online at www.baycitizen.org as well as in print in The New York Times Bay Area report on Fridays and Sundays. For more information, please visit www.baycitizen.org.

Media contact:
Keith Meyer, The Bay Citizen
[email protected]

SOURCE The Bay Citizen