Tribune names Clohessy new managing editor

The Lewiston Tribune opted for in-house talent in selecting its new managing editor.

Interim Managing Editor Craig Clohessy will replace Doug Bauer on Monday following a search throughout the Northwest for someone to lead the newsroom. Clohessy has been serving as interim managing editor since June 1, when Bauer became marketing director of TPC Holdings, the parent company of the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

Clohessy, 55, will oversee about 40 full- and part-time newsroom employees, including reporters, photographers, copy editors and the staff of Inland 360, a joint arts-and-culture publication of the Lewiston Tribune and Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

"I'm fortunate," Clohessy said. "I'm stepping in following good leadership at a family-owned newspaper that still believes in quality journalism. What that means is that there's very little I'm going to need to do to improve on this product."

Clohessy's performance since taking on the new role, initially on a temporary basis, was a factor in the decision, said Nathan Alford, editor and publisher of the Tribune and the Moscow-Pullman Daily News.

"After a stellar ... managing editor effort and nearly two decades of service to our small journalism company, he's earned the opportunity," Alford said. "Clohessy has the foundation to serve (the Tribune) and readers well. He has a deep respect and passion for our journalistic history and our readership area, and a definite energy and enthusiasm for aggressive, independent journalism."

Clohessy brings more than a quarter-century of journalism experience to the position. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Portland in Portland, Ore. After graduation, he was hired at the Camas-Washougal Post-Record in Camas, Wash., in 1988, starting as a reporter and later being promoted to managing editor.

Clohessy joined TPC Holdings in 2000 as city editor of the Moscow-Pullman Daily News. He was promoted to Lewiston Tribune city editor in 2005 by Paul Emerson, who was managing editor at the time. Clohessy held that job until becoming interim managing editor this spring.

"(Clohessy) has the experience and character to build on our best traditions and to continue the digital momentum built by (Bauer) and staff," Alford said.

The Tribune has a presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It can be accessed electronically through smartphones, tablets and computers. Subscribers also can elect to receive breaking news alerts through texts or emails.

Interacting with the public will be a priority, Clohessy said.

The newspaper welcomes any kind of feedback, whether it's through a social media platform, email, telephone call or drop-in visit at the office, Clohessy said.

"My door is always open."

The work to establish the newsroom's new leadership team will continue. Clohessy said he is conducting an "aggressive" search for a new city editor and expects to have a decision within a matter of weeks.

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Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.