The Chicago Sun-Times has announced three key appointments in its growing newsroom, including the promotion of Dave Newbart and Paul Saltzman, and the hiring of Kaitlyn Jakola, into editorial leadership roles.
Dave Newbart was named managing editor, news. Newbart has been with the Sun-Times for the past five years, serving as the interim managing editor for the last 11 months and previously as the deputy managing editor, news and city desk editor. He also was a part of the Sun-Times newsroom for more than 13 years from 1999-2012 as a reporter and then as assistant metro editor. In past roles, Newbart was the interim executive editor for the Chicago Reader and a senior editor for more than five years at DNAInfo/Chicago.
Newbart has won multiple awards as a reporter in Illinois and Wisconsin, including a Peter Lisagor Award for in-depth education reporting and an Illinois AP Editors Association Award for best entertainment coverage for his series on the 25th anniversary of “The Blues Brothers.” As an editor, he oversaw reporters whose education, state government, crime and other coverage has been honored with a National Headliner Award and by the Chicago Headline Club, Illinois Press Association, Association of Alternative News Media and the National Association of Black Journalists. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia, Knox College and Oak Park and River Forest High School.
Paul Saltzman was named deputy managing editor, enterprise and investigations. Most recently he has managed investigations and the Sunday paper as deputy metro editor, investigations. In his expanded role, he will also oversee enterprise reporting.
Saltzman helped develop “The Watchdogs” into a trusted brand for investigative journalism and has guided reporters on stories that have made an impact and that have been recognized with national honors, including the Pulitzer Prize, George Polk Awards, National Headliner Awards, Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards, Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Awards, National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence Awards, Society for Features Journalism Excellence-in-Features Awards, Education Writers Association’s National Awards for Education Reporting and Society of Professional Obituary Writers’ “Grimmys” awards.
Saltzman is a two-time winner of the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors’ “Innovator of the Year” award; has developed collaborations with online, print and broadcast reporting partners in Chicago and nationally; and has been recognized as a John S. Carroll Journalist of the Year for volunteer efforts with The News Literacy Project to help students learn to tell what information they can trust.
Kaitlyn Jakola joins the Sun-Times as editorial director, strategy and operations — a new role for the newsroom. In this role, Jakola will guide newsroom operations and processes, including workflows and forward planning, to help grow the impact of Sun-Times’ journalism.
Jakola is a Chicago-based journalist with a decade of experience as an editor and newsroom leader. Most recently, she was managing editor at The Trace, a nonprofit newsroom covering the American gun violence crisis, where she led distribution and engagement, as well as newsroom operations. Previously, she was on the managing editor team at Insider/Business Insider, where she launched a six-month fellowship program for early career journalists looking to get their start in digital media and hired dozens of full-time staff to the growing digital newsroom. Prior to that, she was copy chief at Mic, where she developed a passion for “conscious copy editing” and inclusive language; she has spoken on the topic as a guest lecturer in university classes and at the annual ACES conference.
Jakola has also taught digital copy editing classes in New York University’s School of Professional Studies. In 2019, she was selected for Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media, and in 2022, she was chosen for the Women’s Leadership Accelerator program sponsored by the Online News Association. Jakola graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism with a Bachelor of Science in journalism.
“Dave and Paul are mission-based, empathetic leaders with deep knowledge of the Sun-Times newsroom, and Kaitlyn brings important new skills and experience to the team,” said Jennifer Kho, executive editor of the Sun-Times. “I’m confident that they will set us up for success in our next chapter, and I’m looking forward to seeing all they’ll accomplish in their critical new roles for our growing newsroom.”
About the Chicago Sun-Times:
Winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes, the Chicago Sun-Times is known for its hard-hitting investigative reporting, in-depth political coverage, timely behind-the-scenes sports analysis, and insightful entertainment and cultural coverage. Chicago Public Media acquired the Chicago Sun-Times in 2022 to form one of the largest nonprofit news organizations in the nation. Together under the banner of Chicago Public Media, the Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ Chicago reach more than 2.5 million people a week in the Chicago area across broadcast, print and digital platforms.
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