From the editor: New opportunities beckon, but the Star is in very good hands

Well, this is a tough column to write, but that’s no excuse for burying the lede, so here goes:

I have accepted a new job in my company, Lee Enterprises, and, although I’m really looking forward to the new job, which I couldn’t resist, it means I will no longer be leading the Arizona Daily Star newsroom.

First of all, rest assured: the Arizona Daily Star is in very good hands.

For the time being, a group of three of the Star’s very talented editors will be teaming to manage the newsroom. They include Senior Editor Hipolito R. Corella, Sports Editor Alexis Huicochea and News Editor Kimberly Kalil.

Corella, 57, has overseen local news coverage at the Arizona Daily Star since 2016. A native Tucsonan and University of Arizona graduate, Corella has been at the Star since 1991 and contributes to every aspect of the Star's local report.

He was first hired as the Star's police beat reporter and has held several reporter and editor positions through the years since.

Huicochea, 43, also a native Tucsonan, has worked at the Star for 21 years. A strong believer in public service journalism, Huicochea spent the first half of her career as a reporter, starting with public safety, followed by several years of covering K-12 education.

As an editor for the past decade, she has overseen education, business, arts and entertainment, features and, most recently, sports.

Kalil, 51, wears many hats at the Star: news editor, digital editor, video editor and editor of #ThisIsTucson. She oversees the daily print production, digital assets, social media, and all things #ThisIsTucson. 

Kalil is originally from Southern California but has lived here in Tucson with her husband and two kids for 20 years. She's been working in the media industry for nearly 30 years, as a reporter, editor, page designer and consultant at newspapers across the country (and even in some cool places outside the U.S. like Mexico, Brazil and Argentina).

About my new gig: As of today, I am the Senior Reporter for Lee Enterprises. That means I’ll be reporting and writing a variety of stories, including investigative projects, narrative writing, profiles and whatever else comes along.  I'll be doing this in ways that benefit readers in Tucson and throughout the country.

It’s an amazing chance, and it allows me to spend some time in harness as a reporter, which I haven’t been able to do for a very long time. I’ll be working on my own stories (reporters always believe the best antidote to a story assignment from an editor is to have a better story of your own choosing in progress). I’ll also be teaming to do other stories with reporters at various Lee properties (Lee Enterprises includes more than 70 newspapers and websites nationwide) and I’ve been asked to do some coaching and mentoring, as well.

Not only do I anticipate that most of my stories will be published on Tucson.com, but I also hope to collaborate with some of the amazingly talented reporters on the Star’s staff, for joint projects.

Bonus: I get to stay in Tucson, so I’m most pleased about that.

Winding up my third tour of duty at the Arizona Daily Star is a welter of mixed emotions. As excited as I am about my new job — it’s a dream — I love the Star, always have since I first walked in the door in 1978, and always will. I have very much enjoyed helping to chart its path and helping reporters produce some of the very best journalism done anywhere in the country over the past three years-plus.

I want to thank all of my colleagues, from those who distribute the newspaper every morning up the ladder to Joel Rohlik, our general manager. I’m very grateful to the advertisers who choose the Star, Tucson.com and thisistucson.com as vehicles to tell their stories. Thanks, too, to my editorial advisory board, who have helped me immeasurably in my quest to help make this wonderful place even better.

And most of all, I'd like to thank you, our readers — those who share my love of Tucson, who appreciate the journalism the Star’s staff produces, whose commitment extends to maintaining a subscription. You are literally the lifeblood of the enterprise. Thank you for supporting local journalism and the Star.

I’ll be seeing you around town.