Herald-Leader editor promoted to McClatchy VP of news for small, medium markets

John Cheves
·2 min read

Peter Baniak, editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader, has been promoted to become McClatchy’s vice president of news for small and medium markets, effective immediately, the company announced Monday.

“I have loved being the editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader,” Baniak told the newspaper’s staff at a meeting Monday afternoon.

“It’s a great job. You all are a great team. I am so proud of the incredible journalism that we have done and the difference that we have made in our community,” he said. “I wouldn’t leave this job if it weren’t for an amazing opportunity, which this vice president position is. It is basically an opportunity for me to do all of the things that we have worked together on, but on a much broader scale.”

The privately owned McClatchy publishes more than 30 newspapers around the country, including the Herald-Leader.

Baniak, 51, has served in the expanded role of Herald-Leader editor and general manager since 2018, following the departure of publisher Rufus Friday. He has been editor since 2009. Two years ago, McClatchy added oversight of its newsrooms in Belleville, Ill., and State College, Pa., to his regular duties.

“Under his leadership as editor since 2009, the staff has won numerous awards for exceptional journalism, including nine McClatchy President’s Awards. In January, the Herald-Leader was once again selected First Place General Excellence by the Kentucky Press Association,” Robyn Tomlin, McClatchy’s chief news officer, said in a prepared statement Monday.

Baniak joined the Herald-Leader in 1995 as Lexington city hall reporter, having previously worked as a reporting intern, and gradually worked his way up through the newsroom ranks.

A former president of the Kentucky Press Association, Baniak lives in Lexington with his family and plans to remain in the city for the foreseeable future, he told the staff.

McClatchy will conduct a national search for Baniak’s replacement in Lexington, the company said. Until a new editor is hired, Baniak said, he will continue to supervise the Herald-Leader’s operations.