Des Moines Register names new executive editor

• Register politics strategist Annah Backstrom will succeed Hunter as news director
• Multimedia strategist Kelli Brown is being promoted to new role of audience and multimedia director

Carol Hunter, an award-winning editor with a passion for watchdog and political journalism, on Tuesday was named executive editor of The Des Moines Register and a regional editor for seven other news organizations in Gannett’s Plains region.

Hunter has worked at the Register for 12 years, most recently as its news director.

“I’m honored and humbled to serve as the Register’s editor,” Hunter said. “My goal is to build on the Register’s strengths, from investigative and political reporting to commentary to college sports coverage, and to deliver that content with innovative digital storytelling.”

As Plains regional editor, Hunter said she plans to coordinate with editors to strengthen the work of their own newsrooms and to contribute to producing compelling coverage by Gannett’s national USA TODAY Network.

In addition to Des Moines, the Plains region includes the Iowa City Press-Citizen, Springfield News-Leader in Missouri, Fort Collins Coloradoan, Sioux Falls Argus Leader in South Dakota, St. Cloud Times in Minnesota, Great Falls Tribune in Montana and Baxter Bulletin in Arkansas.

Hunter is the 12th editor of the Register and Tribune. She succeeds Amalie Nash, who was promoted Aug. 1 to a new role in Gannett as West Region executive editor, overseeing about 50 news organizations in the Midwest and West.

“I was fortunate to work side by side with Carol during my tenure and know her to be a committed, passionate journalist who works tirelessly for our readers,” Nash said. “Her background, expertise and deep understanding of Iowa will ensure the Register continues to be a vital voice in this community.”

“Carol is passionate about the opportunities and issues facing Iowans, from rural communities to our city centers,” said David Chivers, president and publisher of Register Media. “I couldn’t think of a better partner to lead our newsroom with the integrity and expertise that our readers expect on screens and in print. I’m thrilled for her, our team and our state.”

In her 12 years at the Register, Hunter has served as editorial page editor, politics editor and news director. She has helped lead the Register’s nationally recognized coverage of the Iowa caucuses through three election cycles and has spearheaded public service projects including “Iowa Kids” and “Black Iowa: Still Unequal?”

Nash announced Hunter's promotion to the Register newsroom Tuesday morning, noting that several staff members had lobbied for her.

"After conducting a national search it was very obvious that, yes, in fact, we had the perfect person to take on that role," Nash said.

Chivers added that he is excited to continue working with Hunter.

"Carol is a mentor, a coach, takes our pursuits and our mission very seriously and on the business side has been a terrific partner as we have been working through innovative programs to try to monetize the content differently," he said.

Speaking to the newsroom Tuesday, Hunter said the Register and its news partners in the Plains region must continue to focus on investigative journalism and innovative storytelling.

“I see my job as facilitating an environment where everyone is pursuing good stories and everyone feels empowered and encouraged to pursue innovation in how they tell those stories digitally," she said.

Hunter, 59, is a graduate of the University of Kansas school of journalism. She started her career at the New Mexican in Santa Fe, then held several reporting and editing roles at the Courier-News in Bridgewater, N.J., eventually becoming the top editor.

She then served as executive editor of the Green Bay, Wis., Press-Gazette for eight years before coming to the Register.

She grew up on a farm in Kansas and met her husband, Tom Perry, when they both worked at the Courier-News in New Jersey. Perry was a food writer at the Register who retired in 2012.

Hunter also announced two changes to the Register newsroom leadership team:

• Annah Backstrom, who has worked four years at the Register and currently serves as politics strategist, will succeed Hunter as news director.
• Kelli Brown, who has been at the Register 14 years and serves as multimedia strategist, is being promoted to the new role of audience and multimedia director.
• They join Allen Vaughan, hired earlier this year as consumer experience director, in holding the Register’s three director-level roles.