Monica Richardson just broke a 117-year-old glass ceiling. The veteran journalist made history Monday, Dec. 7 when McClatchy announced it was naming her executive editor of the Miami Herald. She is the first Black person to hold the role since the award-winning paper was founded over a century ago.
“We are thrilled to welcome Monica to Miami,” McClatchy’s senior vice president of news Kristin Roberts said in a statement. “She has a strong record of leadership in local journalism at one of the great metro newsrooms in the country. Now, she brings her commitment to accountability journalism and a track record of successful digital innovation that serves local audiences.”
Currently the senior managing editor at the Atlanta Journal Constitution (AJC), Richardson will begin her historic tenure on Jan. 1. Among her areas of expertise are digital news and metro reporting.
Richardson, 50, has 30 years of experience, 15 of which she has spent at the AJC. She expressed how excited she is to join the Herald.
“I’m pleased to be working in a newsroom where journalism is the core mission of everything. That’s what drives me in my career. It’s the passion,” she said. “I wouldn’t be coming to Miami if I didn’t see that passion for journalism.”
She also noted she would not take being a history-maker for granted.
“I don’t take that lightly,” Richardson said. “It means a lot to me. It means a lot to my family. It means a lot to my ancestors. I’ll step into those shoes and work hard.”
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In addition to her role at the Herald, Richardson’s will serve as McClatchy’s Florida regional editor and oversee el Nuevo Herald and the Bradenton Herald.
Noting the unprecedented times the world is facing, Monica Richardson said “the impact of the pandemic, racial reckoning and the country’s political divisiveness” have made the Herald’s mission “more important now than ever before.”
A graduate of Old Dominion University, Richardson has an 8-year-old daughter. She said she plans to use her experience to shore up the herald’s digital presence. She also seeks to “build strong relationships in the newsroom, strong relationships in the community, and make sure our newsroom and community are heard” in her new role.
It is a week filled with Black women ascending to top leadership roles at news organizations. News of Richardson’s appointment broke the same day MSNBC announced it was promoting Rashida Jones to president, making her the first Black woman to lead a major cable news network.
Dorothy Tucker is the president of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ). In separate statements she congratulated both Richardson and Jones on their promotions.
“We congratulate Monica [Richardson] and are pleased that the McClatchy-owned Herald is taking this important historic step to diversify its management ranks,” Tucker said.
Of Jones’ promotion, Tucker said, “Rashida fully understands and supports the importance of representation, diversity, and inclusion. … Her promotion is bigger than our industry, it’s the kind of story Black and Brown children everywhere need to see, so they can know what’s possible.”
