Poynter Institute multimedia faculty Regina McCombs announced Thursday she would leave to work for Minnesota Public Radio News. McCombs will leave a month short of five years at Poynter, she said in a phone interview Thursday.
Big news! After 5 yrs @poynter, I’m heading home, going to @mprnews as Sr Editor for Visual News. Let jokes about photos on radio begin.
— Regina McCombs (@reginajmc) May 30, 2013
McCombs’ duties will include developing ideas for MPR News’ website and mobile apps, she said. “They’re really interested in strategic ideas for video.”
McCombs is a Minnesota native who’s worked for The (Minneapolis) Star Tribune and KARE-TV. Asked why she’d leave a cushy Poynter gig, McCombs said after five years out of a newsroom, “it feels a little bit like I’m…making it up. I feel like if you’re gonna keep talking about it you have to get back to it and get your hands dirty,” she said. “I miss the energy of the newsroom.”
McCombs’ last day at Poynter is June 25, and she starts her new job July 1. She is looking forward to returning to a locale with actual seasons (Poynter is based in St. Petersburg, Fla.) but says she’ll “really, really miss” her colleagues. Fortunately, she will continue to teach at Poynter and has seminars scheduled in September (average Twin Cities temperature: high 72, low 52) and November (high 41, low 26).
