StarNews' Pam Sander named GateHouse's Southeast region editor

Sander will now lead newsrooms in the eight-state region for GateHouse Media

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Pam Sander, regional editor for GateHouse Media's Coastal North Carolina Group, has been named editor of the company's publications in the eight-state Southeast region.

Sander will now lead and coordinate newsrooms in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Louisiana, Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia.

"Journalism has always been a calling for me, and right now is such a critical time for that calling," Sander said. "Wilmington piloted a newsroom transformation that's now rolling out across the company. I'm excited to be part of the successes on a broader scale."

The program piloted in Wilmington transitioned newsroom coverage priorities to an audience-focused model to better serve local communities. Sander will help newsrooms throughout the region implement the new program for their specific communities.

"I am so focused every day on strategies that will get us across the bridge through the greatest of disrupters – the internet and a changing business model," she said. "What worked in 1990 or even 2010 doesn't work anymore. Being aware of the audiences that best support and need local journalism is half of the battle."

Sander is one of several elevated to new positions as the program is rolled out, a strategy GateHouse Senior Vice President Bill Church said is essential to delivering an improved audience experience.

"These agile thinkers will transform GateHouse's newsroom culture from passive to progressive and will focus on high-interest, high-engagement entrepreneurial journalism," he said.

The work done by Sander and staff has been a leading force of change in the GateHouse model, something StarNews Publisher Mike Distelhorst said Sander will carry into the new role.

"Pam has a proven history of successfully leading one of the best news organizations in our company," he said. "Her expanded role will allow her to help GateHouse newsrooms in eight states adapt and change as we continue to grow audience and a larger digital footprint. Selfishly, I'm also thrilled that she will continue to be based out of Wilmington. "

Sander has been a mainstay at the StarNews in recent years, holding a number of titles including features editor, community editor, magazine editor, operations editor and executive editor. In 2017, she was named regional editor for the Coastal North Carolina Group.

Sander's expanded role in GateHouse papers will allow newsroom leaders in Coastal North Carolina to step up to oversee coverage at publications.

StarNews Managing Editor Sherry Jones already oversees day-to-day coverage operations in Wilmington, while Chris Segal will now do the same for the Jacksonville Daily News, the New Bern Sun Journal and The Kinston Free Press.

"The lead editors at our newspapers in Coastal North Carolina are phenomenal," Sander said. "They are top performers for our company, and many times, are better when I get out of the way."

A graduate of Clemson University, Sander is married to Tom Sander, and has two children, Leah Sander, 24, who is manager of Avalon Apartments, and Nick Sander, 20, who is a senior at East Carolina University. She previously worked for eight years at The Charlotte Observer as a news editor, education reporter and the paper's first female sports columnist to write on general topics.

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