Executive Editor, Rick Green

Cheers could be heard back in Ohio on Thursday when Rick was announced the Executive Editor of The Desert Sun. It was a banner day for our family, especially the hard-working, dedicated, innovative Dad. Here's an excerpt from the story that ran in the paper on Friday:

After the meeting, Green said he will focus on bringing more sophistication, quality and urgency to the entire Desert Sun news operation. He promised even more local news, more urgent reporting on mydesert.com and improved coverage of issues that are important to desert readers, especially those related to the economy."We will continue our reputation to do high-impact, public service journalism that makes a difference in the desert. At the same time, we'll interact with readers and engage them in new ways across all our Web site, the daily edition and all of our products. Relationships with our readers are very important to me."I'm so proud to call the Coachella Valley home, and to interact with the neighbors, merchants and business leaders that make this such a special place to live. There's great responsibility when you're executive editor of a community's newspaper, and I embrace that responsibility with great humility and great excitement. I promise our team will do wonderful things for the readers of The Desert Sun and our Web site."

Green started his journalism career at his hometown paper, the Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune, as a correspondent and photographer when he was a high school sophomore.After wrapping up his journalism studies at Ohio University in 1987, he was a reporter and columnist at The Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette before becoming a business reporter at The Cincinnati Enquirer in 1988. He earned numerous statewide awards as a reporter before becoming suburban editor, business editor and assistant managing editor overseeing local news at The Enquirer.Green was twice named a Gannett "Newsroom Supervisor of the Year" in Cincinnati.

His reporting teams have won recognition for outstanding work on a broad range of subjects, from race relations in Cincinnati to coverage of wildfires, retirement deals offered to public employees, environmental threats confronting the Salton Sea, and questionable spending at the Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District.

"I have a deep commitment to sophisticated, hard-hitting stories that touch readers' lives," Green said. "I also want our Web site to be even more essential to readers, a place where breaking news stories are posted immediately. We recognize that readers want the news as it happens. I promise we'll continue to deliver."

Green and his wife, Laura, have four children: Abigail, 15; Elizabeth, 12; Katy, 8; and Ben, 5.

http://www.mydesert.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080710/BUSINESS/80710017&s=d&page=1

We moved to So Cal in 2004 when Rick was promoted from Cincinnati to The Desert Sun. He has spent the last four years working harder than anyone in the newsroom, and his dedication paid off. I was there when he was announced as Executive Editor, and the room exploded with cheers and applause. It was a proud moment for us both.
We love you, Rick. No one is prouder of you today than me.