Tolley leaving as executive editor of Clarion-Ledger

Executive editor Brian Tolley has announced he is leaving The Clarion-Ledger for the same position at sister papers based out of Hilton Head, S.C.

Tolley, who joined The Clarion-Ledger in March of 2012, will now lead the newsrooms of The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette.

"The Carolinas have always been home for my family, and the draw was just too strong," Tolley said. "As much as I love the team here in Jackson, and the friends we've made along the way, a new challenge awaits."

Publisher Jason Taylor praised Tolley's work during an announcement to the staff.

"Brian has led this news organization through great change since 2012," Taylor said in an email.

Staff members were stunned when the announcement was made, with editors sitting in silence when they were told just before the staff-wide announcement. The quiet was broken by Assistant Managing Editor Debbie Skipper, "Well, congratulations," which was met with laughs and agreements.

When the announcement was made to the full newsroom, staffers expressed their disappointment with losing Tolley but said they understood the motivation behind his decision.

Editorial cartoonist Marshall Ramsey said, "Brian quietly believed in me and the work I do. I'll miss him and his leadership. But he's going home. I understand what a powerful a lure that is."

Community leaders said Tolley had been a driving force behind rebuilding The Clarion-Ledger and restating its importance to the community and the state.

Blake Wilson, president and CEO of the Mississippi Economic Council, said Tolley restored a "conscience for community" to the newspaper that was seen most prominently with the coverage of the tornadoes that struck several areas of the state.

"The paper covered not only the tornadoes and their devastating impact but also the incredible human response to this horrible tragedy," Wilson said.

Wilson also attributed Tolley with moving the paper away from covering "low-hanging fruit of the latest crime attack and focused on the broader picture of what needed to be done to improve our communities and state.

"Probably Brian's greatest contribution is that he brought the community back to the newspaper," Wilson said.

Layne Bruce, executive director of the Mississippi Press Association, said Brian had "a tall order before him when he took over the editor's desk."

"I have been impressed by Brian's ability to assemble a talented team despite the challenges in the industry. He was a good recruiter and it shows in the content of the paper," Layne said. "I also think his vision and enthusiasm has helped solidify a strong foundation for The Clarion-Ledger as it tackles its daily mission amid the many challenges that are coming at lightning speed for journalism in general and newspapers in particular."

The past several years have been tumultuous for newspapers, The Clarion-Ledger included. Major initiatives, such as the introduction of a digital pay meter and the addition of national and world USA Today sections, were done during his time as editor, but the biggest change during Tolley's tenure was a seismic shift in the way The Clarion-Ledger gathered and published news. A champion of digital journalism, Tolley overhauled jobs and workshifts, created new positions for a modern newsroom, emphasized social media and readership metrics, and recruited people with non-traditional newspaper backgrounds to facilitate change.

Content coverage also shifted noticeably. An investigative and enterprise team was formed to do major projects, and many traditional coverage areas were eschewed while more resources were poured into covering state government, politics and college sports in a more comprehensive way.

"All newspapers are faced with covering news with fewer people," Tolley said. "That's the reality. If we had continued as an institution to try to do everything we did 10 years ago, then we would have ended up not doing anything of substance, and not doing anything very well. Instead, we tried to be great at a few core things, and investigative work and community leadership journalism were always atop that list."

Today, The Clarion-Ledger finds itself among the Gannett company's top digital outlets, fourth out of more than 80 markets in digital-only subscribers and among the highest performers in mobile readership. The paper also has reasserted its dominance within Mississippi, ringing up 24 first-place awards in 32 categories in the most-recent Mississippi Press Association awards judging.

Taylor said the search for a new executive editor will begin immediately.