Jeff Rosen has yet to start his job as the sports editor of the Kansas City Star, but he already is in the process for his first hire there — landing the section's second columnist.
"I've already fielded plenty of interest," Rosen said, "which just reiterates to me that this is one of the best commentary jobs in the country."
Rosen comes to the position after more than six years at the Houston Chronicle, where he was most recently the deputy sports editor. Included was a seven-month stint as the interim sports editor after Carlton Thompson left the Chronicle for mlb.com and before Brad Lehman was named the Texas sports editor for Hearst Newspapers.
"A lot of times you'd come into a new job like this and major surgery would await. Not so in Kansas City," Rosen said. "The Star's blend of respected veterans and up-and-coming talent makes it a class organization from top to bottom. Plus, it's a fantastic sports town."
The combination of Kansas City sports and the Star's coverage in 2007 produced a haul of 12 APSE awards, including the only Triple Crown won by a newspaper in the largest circulation category during 2008 judging. Nine awards were for writing, including former columnists Joe Posnanski and Jason Whitlock and current columnist Sam Mellinger, who won in features and as part of the project team.
Mike Fannin since has moved from sports editor to editor, and Rosen replaces Fannin's former deputy and his successor as SE, Holly Lawton. She announced her resignation earlier this year.
"Their record of excellence speaks for itself," Rosen said. "Papers don't win a dozen APSE awards in one year by accident. Triple Crowns are the expectation. I know I have big shoes to fill, but I really believe we have the staff to build upon that proud tradition."
Rosen said he brings energy and fresh ideas to his new position.
"I'm also excited about working with the Star's young writers," he said. "Compelling narrative will continue to separate us from the rest of the field, and I'm going to challenge them, inspire them and help them grow.
"We're going to break and tell stories across all platforms: Web, mobile and social media. The staff up there already thinks Web-first, which is half the battle. And kansascity.com is in the process of a significant redesign, which is exciting to me."
Rosen, a 1995 University of Washington graduate, was sports editor at the Times-News in Twin Falls, Idaho, from 1998 to 2001, and also worked at the Journal of the San Juan Islands in Friday Harbor, Wash., and the Chaffee County Times in Buena Vista, Colo., early in his career. Rosen spent three years as the sports editor of the Kitsap Sun, a Scripps Howard newspaper in Bremerton, Wash., before joining the Houston Chronicle as a copy editor in 2004. He was promoted over the next several years to weekend sports editor, assistant editor and deputy sports editor.
During his time in Houston, the Chronicle has covered MLB and NBA All-Star games, a World Series run by the Astros, playoff appearances by the Rockets and two NCAA regionals. This fall, Rosen planned out the Chronicle's six months of lead-up coverage fot the 2011 Final Four at Reliant Stadium.
"I'm infinitely proud of what we accomplished in Houston this year, especially during my seven months as interim SE," Rosen said. "We did a series on concussions built around the heart-wrenching stories of a cross-section former Oilers and their widows. We tried a new approach to our high school football preview: a thick, glossy magazine that offered a bit about every team in our massive coverage area. And our lead-up to and coverage of the 2011 Final Four in Houston has been and will continue to be outstanding.
"Houston's pro teams have experienced only fleeting success since I arrived in 2004, but I have been able to take part in coverage of a few Astros and Rockets playoff runs. I'll miss feeling the energy of that city once the Texans finally break through and reach the postseason."
Lehman said Rosen will be missed in Houston.
"Jeff will be a hard guy to replace, and he's been an enormous help to me in my short time here," Lehman said. "He's going to be a great editor in Kansas City."
Graham new Fayetteville sports editor
Larry Graham steps into the sports editor position at the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, replacing Todd Adams, who is the college sports editor for the Tribune Company's Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
"Fayetteville has been a remarkable paper for quite some time," Graham said, "and Todd did a great job over the last couple of years. I'm hoping to continue the tradition of excellence that's already been established, and hopefully build on that foundation."
Graham had been assistant sports editor at ThisWeek Community Newspapers in Columbus, Ohio, since August 2009, and previously worked as preps copy editor and page designer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, sports editor at the Lima News, assistant sports editor at the Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern, sports reporter at the Lee's Summit Journal and preps reporter at the Kansas City Star.
Graham said he has met with members of the staff to discuss strengthening the Observer brand and building the relationship between the print and online editions.
"We all seem on the same page when it comes to how we can morph the Observer sports section into a multimedia entity, instead of just a newspaper and website," Graham said. "We hope to transform the print edition and the online edition into more of a symbiotic relationship to better position ourselves for whatever happens over the course of the next five to 10 years."
NORTHEAST
Boston Globe: Hired Greg Bedard as NFL reporter. Bedard had been covering the Packers, primarily for online, at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
SOUTHEAST
Orlando Sentinel: Matt Murschel moved from sports designer to multimedia reporter focused on college football.
Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger: Mike Christensen, a 26-year veteran of the Clarion-Ledger, was laid off in early November. Christensen was a Southern Miss beat writer for the defunct Jackson Daily News before the newspapers combined in 1987. He covered minor league baseball and small colleges while also working on the copy desk. … Johanathan Brooks, a 2010 LSU graduate who had been working for the Madison County Herald, a Clarion-Ledger suburban publication, is moving to the sports department in mid-December to help cover high schools. Brooks is replacing Todd Kelly, who after 20 years is leaving the Clarion-Ledger in December to become director of development for the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
Northwest Arkansas Newspapers: Promoted Alex Abrams to assistant sports editor. Abrams previously was the football beat writer covering the Arkansas Razorbacks for the Morning News of Northwest Arkansas prior to the November 2009 merger with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. He has been a high school reporter covering Fayetteville sports. Abrams replaces former ASE Kurt Voigt, who recently was hired by The Associated Press. … Terry Wood, former sports editor of the Northwest Arkansas Times prior to the merger, will replace Abrams as the Fayetteville High beat reporter on Jan. 1. Wood presently is a copy editor for the Democrat-Gazette's Northwest edition.
