Robyn Tomlin, editor of the N&O and Herald-Sun, promoted to McClatchy vice president
The newsroom at The News & Observer and the Durham Herald-Sun will soon have a new leader who will focus solely on the Triangle.
Robyn Tomlin, the top editor at The N&O and Herald-Sun, is taking a new job at McClatchy, which owns those properties and 28 others across the country. Tomlin has been named Vice President for Local News, supporting the company’s newsrooms in small and medium-sized markets, including the Triangle.
The search for Tomlin’s successor has begun. In the meantime, Sharif Durhams, who already oversees the day-to-day operations of the newsroom as managing editor, will act as interim editor.
Tomlin came to McClatchy from the Dallas Morning News in 2018 to become the company’s first regional editor for the Carolinas. From her base at the N&O, she has supervised newsrooms in Charlotte and at five news organizations the company owns in South Carolina, including The State in Columbia and the Sun News in Myrtle Beach.
McClatchy papers in Georgia and Mississippi were added to her list of responsibilities in 2019, and she also became president of The News & Observer last year.
As executive editor of the N&O and Herald-Sun, Tomlin’s successor will not have any of the regional duties that she did. That person will report to Tomlin, who will continue to work at the N&O’s office in downtown Raleigh.
Tomlin moved to Chapel Hill as a grade-school student and graduated from Chapel Hill High School before enrolling at Durham Technical Community College. An English teacher there suggested she give journalism a try, and she eventually transferred to UNC-Chapel Hill, where she graduated from the school of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1996.
Tomlin met Durhams when they both worked for The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper at UNC. She hired him away from The Washington Post in December.
In a written statement, Tomlin said she’s excited about working with local newsrooms across the country but that she considered it the “privilege of a lifetime” to lead her hometown newspaper.
“I’m so proud of the ambitious journalism we’ve tackled and of the focus we’ve put on serving this diverse and dynamic community with quality news and information,” she wrote. “More than anything, I’m proud of this team and collaborative culture we’ve built together. You will not find a harder working or more mission-driven group of journalists anywhere.”
Kristin Roberts, McClatchy’s senior vice president for news, praised Tomlin’s leadership and commitment.
“Robyn is a creative and service-driven leader who has shown a deep understanding of what our local readers, viewers and listeners want,” Roberts said in a written statement. “This is an exciting moment. As we invest in newsrooms across the country, Robyn will play a key role in supporting small and medium-sized teams. And she will remain connected to The News & Observer, which will expand its leadership team by adding another excellent editor who embraces our mission of independent local news that serves our community.”
This story was originally published July 20, 2021 at 1:53 PM.
