The Sacramento Press Promotes David Watts Barton and Colleen Belcher to Top Editorial Positions

 

Staffers named Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editor, respectively

SACRAMENTO — December 21, 2009 —The Sacramento Press (www.sacramentopress.com) today announced the promotions of two staffers to helm the hyper-local news website that launched in late 2008.

Sacramento native David Watts Barton, who has spent his entire career reporting on the pulse of the capital city, has been promoted from managing editor to editor in chief.

Colleen Belcher has been promoted from journalism support manager to managing editor.

Their appointments were announced by Geoff Samek, co-founder of The Sacramento Press, who had held the title editor in chief but will now focus more on the organization’s expanding business development opportunities.

Ben Ilfeld, co-founder and chief operating officer of The Sacramento Press, said: “David Watts Barton is one of Sacramento’s true gems. His dedication to Sacramento shows he is as much as part of this city as our rivers and historic neighborhoods or our ever-changing skyline. Colleen Belcher’s professional demeanor and unsurpassed enthusiasm for our project has made her both an in-office favorite and an indispensable resource for the entire community.”

Barton spent nearly 25 years with The Sacramento Bee reporting primarily on the city’s arts and culture.  He also has written about the city for magazines and as a blogger, and he has done reporting and acted as a talk show host for local NPR affiliate KXJZ-FM.

“As editor in chief, I want to cover the central city in a way it has never been covered before,” Barton said.  “We’re already on a path to get there. We use both professional journalists and citizen contributors to spur community involvement in a way no other publication has.

“With The Sacramento Press, we have the possibility of covering issues that matter to the community,” he added. “I’m very excited about the possibilities for enabling citizens to not just read about our town, but to participate in the culture and governance of our town.”

Belcher, also a northern California native, holds a degree in English from the University of California, Davis.  She had interned with a magazine before joining The Sacramento Press in October 2008.  She has been responsible for training community contributors and interns to write for The Sacramento Press, assigning them to cover events or issues, and coordinating copy editing for their reporting.

Belcher echoed Barton’s enthusiasm for what she called Sacramento’s “energy, excitement and vibrancy.”

“I’m really excited about Sacramento and telling people how great it is as The Sacramento Press becomes more widely recognized,” Belcher said.

Lynn Mayugba, Vice President of Corporate Strategy for The Sacramento Press, said: “David and Colleen are both incredibly talented writers and very strong business-minded individuals, so these promotions make perfect sense.  They’re great journalists and a dynamic team.”

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About the Sacramento Press
Aiming to rewrite the rules of journalism through community engagement, The Sacramento Press uses a hyper-local lens and an army of 700-plus community contributors to offer reporting and commentary on all news and issues of interest to residents of the city’s communities.  Through its powerful website, events and marketing services, the pioneering online media outlet partners with local business to advance their brands through sponsorships of community activities. It also provides businesses social-networking-advisory services.