Ryan McKibben, CEO of Clarity Media Group, announced the creation of a new executive position — national editorial director — and the promotion of the current executive editor of The Washington Examiner, Vivienne Sosnowski, to that post as a vice president of Clarity.
“Recognizing the continued growth of The Examiner newspapers and the potential created by increasing consumer demands for news that matters in their lives, Clarity Media Group has created a senior executive position to better manage the content and delivery of its news products,” McKibben said.
“There is no better person to manage our national news assets to take full advantage of these many opportunities than Vivienne Sosnowski.”
“Vivienne’s rock-solid background as a news editor and her intellectual grasp of the changing news–media world make her the best and only choice to play this key national role for Clarity Media Group.”
Coincidental with the Sosnowski appointment, Michael Phelps, publisher of The Washington Examiner, announced the appointment of Stephen G. Smith as the executive editor.
“I am most pleased to announce that The Washington Examiner scored a major win for its readers and advertisers today with the appointment of Stephen Smith as our executive editor.
“Stephen doesn’t hit the ground running — he hits the ground sprinting — bringing some 25 years of Washington news editing experience to The Examiner. Most recently, he served as the Washington news editor for the Houston Chronicle. He was also editor of U.S. News & World Report and editor of National Journal — the prestigious weekly devoted to government and politics.”
Smith commented on his new role in a familiar Washington: “I am thrilled to be working for The Washington Examiner and with its talented newsroom staff. I am particularly excited with the notion of utilizing over two decades of Washington news experience in a gutsy organization that not only understands that the news industry is changing … but was founded on that basis.”
Vivienne Sosnowski
Sosnowski took over as executive editor of The Washington Examiner on Jan. 3, 2006, and before that was executive editor of The San Francisco Examiner. Prior to coming to San Francisco in August 2004, she had been editor of The Province in Vancouver, B.C., and before that was executive editor of Toronto’s National Post.
Stephen G. Smith
Smith has some 25 years experience editing Washington news and most recently has been the Washington news editor for the Houston Chronicle. During his newspaper career, Smith has served as Washington news editor for Knight Ridder Newspapers and worked in editing and reporting positions at the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Albany Times Union and the Daily Hampshire Gazette in Northampton, Mass.
At the Globe, he won the Ernie Pyle Award for writing and reporting that exemplified “the style and craftsmanship” of the great World War II reporter and human interest columnist.
Smith is the only journalist to hold senior editor positions at all three major news magazines. In addition to heading U.S. News & World Report, he served as executive editor of Newsweek and editor of the Nation section of Time.
He was also the editor of National Journal, a weekly devoted to government and politics, and was the founding editor of Civilization magazine. In 1996, Civilization won a National Magazine Award for General Excellence, becoming only the second magazine in the 30-year history of the prizes to win the top honor after its first year of publication.
