Cheryl Carpenter will take over as Washington bureau chief for the McClatchy newspaper chain, an appointment that comes as the company restructuring its D.C. outpost to de-emphasize foreign reporting.
Carpenter, who is currently managing editor of the Charlotte Observer, will replace Jim Asher, who has held the job since 2011. Asher will leave McClatchy to join the Injustice Project, a journalism startup, according to the announcement.
McClatchy CEO Pat Talamantes hailed Carpenter’s appointment in a prepared statement, calling her a “terrific fit” for the job.
We’re privileged to have the kind of talent that both Jim and Cheryl give us in the important work we do at the bureau,” said CEO Pat Talamantes. “As we make this transition, I want to thank Jim for his service and welcome Cheryl to a position that we know will be a terrific fit.”
Carpenter takes the reins during a transitional time for McClatchy’s D.C. bureau. In October, the newspaper company announced it was closing its foreign bureaus as part of a turn toward more U.S.-based regional and politics stories.
Last month, McClatchy announced it booked revenues of $251.2 million during the third quarter of 2015, down nearly 8 percent from the same period last year.
