Steve Proctor named managing editor of Houston Chronicle

HOUSTON, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Steve Proctor, an award-winning journalist who has served as managing editor of the San Francisco Chronicle since 2009, will assume the same position at the Houston Chronicle beginning June 18.  The announcement was made Monday by Jeff Cohen, editor of the Houston Chronicle.

Proctor, 54, will report to Cohen as the second-in-command in the newsroom and will be responsible for the daily and Sunday content that is distributed in the newspaper, on chron.com and on many other digital platforms.

"When I learned a few weeks ago that Steve was interested in moving east, I pounced on the opportunity to have him transfer here," said Cohen.  "He, San Francisco Chronicle editor Ward Bushee and their team have done a fabulous job infusing their paper with quality daily enterprise and big-picture projects that are eminently readable, agenda-setting and capture the essence of the market."

Proctor began his career as a reporter at United Press International and then worked at the Baltimore Sun in various reporting and editing assignments.  He joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 2003 as a Deputy Managing Editor for News.  Stories he has overseen have won numerous national awards. Two have won a Pulitzer Prize, one for photography and one for feature writing.

"In a time of great change and challenge at the Chronicle, Steve's leadership over the news staff has been indispensable," said Ward Bushee, the San Francisco Chronicle's editor. "Steve has contributed so much to the Chronicle and we will miss him."

Proctor graduated from American University in Washington in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and history, cum laude. He was a John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University. In 2011, he was named by the president of Stanford to the Board of Visitors of the Knight Fellowship.

"I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to join Hearst's largest newspaper," Proctor said. "Houston impresses me as a great news town, given that it's at the forefront of so many issues facing our nation. I can't wait to get started working with Jeff and the Chronicle's talented staff on telling the city's story."

Proctor and his wife, Mara, have two grown children.

Cohen also elevated Melissa Aguilar to Senior Editor/Features in charge of the Chronicle's features, arts and entertainment sections.  Kyrie O'Connor, who has served as interim editor of the San Antonio Express-News, returns to Houston as a columnist and an editor working on long-form projects in features and sports.

The Houston Chronicle, the largest newspaper in Texas and the nation's seventh-largest newspaper, has evolved into a multi-media company publishing online and commercial print products, in English and Spanish, reaching specific audiences with unique delivery programs.  In addition to the Houston Chronicle's 950,000 daily readers and 1.5 million readers on Sunday, Chron.com, the Chronicle's online site, averages nearly 83 million page views and 7.7 million unique visitors each month. The Houston Chronicle is owned by the Hearst Corporation.

Nicki Britton
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SOURCE Houston Chronicle