USA Today Names New Editor-In-Chief

Nicole Carroll

Gannett, the publishing company that owns USAToday and 109 local media properties, on Wednesday named Nicole Carroll as the flagship news organization’s editor in chief.

Carroll, 50, currently the vice president of news and editor of The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, will officially begin her editor-in-chief duties  on March 7. She joined the Republic in 1999 and was named executive editor in 2008.

USAToday’s previous editor in chief and chief content officer, Joanne Lipman, departed in December to focus on a book on gender inequality in the workplace.

Carroll’s leadership at the Phoenix-based Republic and her oversight as southwest regional editor for several USA TODAY NETWORK properties in Nevada, New Mexico and Utah made her a standout when it came to choosing a new editor in chief, says Maribel Perez Wadsworth, president, USA TODAY NETWORK and associate publisher, USA TODAY.

“We had a number of great candidates. This is a premier job opportunity. There was a lot of interest,” Wadsworth said. “But I knew in my heart Nicole was the right person, the right leader at this time for this news organization. She is an incredibly dynamic leader. She has built an amazing team (and) she really is focused on the talent and the teamwork it takes to do quality work.”

Carroll, who was named 2017 Benjamin C. Bradlee “Editor of the Year” by the National Press Foundation, recently oversaw the multimedia project The Wall, a project led by the Republic with contributions from other USA TODAY NETWORK properties, documenting the impact of a proposed border wall between the U.S. and Mexico.