NCR Board Chair Tom Bertelsen announced the appointment of former NCR editor and publisher, Tom Fox, as Interim company CEO and president. The announcement came days after a six-month search for a CEO/Executive Editor failed to hire a candidate.
Fox announced, in turn, he had appointed Tom Roberts, former NCR editor, and more recently, editor-at-large, to be his executive editor.
“The return of Fox and Roberts bring two familiar faces to leadership positions in the company,” Bertelsen said. “They have much experience to offer and come to their posts at a vital moment in church history.”
Following the resignation of Caitlin Hendel last April after nearly five years as NCR publisher, the NCR Board hired a firm and began a search for a replacement leader. That search ended last month after the lead candidate withdrew from consideration.
Fox, 74, first joined NCR as editor in 1980, briefly held the positions of editor and publisher in 1985, and became full time publisher in 1997, a position he held until in 2004. After a short period in retirement, he returned as editor in 2008 and was again named publisher in 2011. Fox retired in January 2016.
“While my appointment is unexpected, I am very pleased to serve NCR again at this unprecedented point in church history,” said Fox.
Roberts, 70, joined NCR in 1994 first serving as managing editor, then as editor and finally as editor at large. He has continued his reporting for NCR since retiring from full time work last December.
“NCR has long set a singular mark in Catholic journalism for advancing and maintaining ‘the people’s right to know,’ and it has been my privilege to be part of that history. Though I had not anticipated a return to daily work, I am honored to help at this point to fashion a path to the publication’s future,” Roberts said. “A major question of this tumultuous era is ‘Where are we headed as a church and a community?’ With rigorous reporting and our readers’ help, we might begin to find an answer.”
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The National Catholic Reporter Publishing Company is a Kansas City, Mo.-based independent news source. Founded in 1964, NCR offers news, commentary and analysis of the church in the United States and the world.
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