March 30--The Chicago Tribune has named John McCormick as editor of the editorial page, the newspaper's influential platform for opinion leadership.
McCormick, who as deputy editorial page editor has led the editorial board on an interim basis since February, succeeds Bruce Dold, who was promoted to publisher and editor-in-chief of the Tribune this year.
Marie Dillon, an editorial board member since 2006, was named deputy editorial page editor as part of several internal moves announced Wednesday to realign the board's leadership.
"John and Marie are really strong, persuasive writers who have a lot of experience, both as writers and editors," Dold said. "They understand our fundamental editorial board mission -- push for government transparency, call out corruption, build a strong regional economy."
McCormick, 66, joined the editorial board in 2000 and was named deputy editor the following year. He has won several awards for editorial writing and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist three times. Before joining the Tribune, he was Midwest bureau chief of Newsweek and previously worked as a reporter and columnist for the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. McCormick started his career as a night copy clerk for the Chicago Daily News while attending Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.
"Since 2000 I've been humbled to work for the Tribune, which helped teach me to read in my grandfather's living room, and which I sold as a boy in Manchester, Iowa," McCormick said. "The added privilege comes in trying to help smart readers sort through challenging issues in their lives, their communities, their world."
Dold said he considered looking outside the editorial board for new leadership but felt McCormick's experience made him the best choice. He called his work "impactful," citing former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's efforts to get McCormick fired in the wake of critical editorials. The alleged plot was revealed in secret recordings that led up to Blagojevich's 2011 conviction on federal corruption charges.
"He wound up focusing on John McCormick and asking if John McCormick was still employed, because I think Blagojevich knew how much John bedeviled him with strong writing," Dold said.
Blagojevich is now serving a 14-year sentence for corruption at a Colorado federal prison.
Dillon joined the Tribune in December 1999 as an assistant metro editor and worked as suburban editor, regional editor and deputy metro editor before moving to the editorial board.
In other moves, longtime board member Marcia Lythcott was appointed associate editorial page editor for commentary. She was named commentary editor last year. Alex Rodriguez, a veteran reporter and editor, will join the board as an editorial writer. Rodriguez was a writer on the Tribune's "Gateway to Gridlock" series, which won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting.
rchannick@tribpub.com
