R-E names Pierce executive editor

Mardi Link, The Record-Eagle, Traverse City, Mich.
·2 min read

Jun. 26—TRAVERSE CITY — Community news veteran Rebecca Pierce has been named executive editor of the Traverse City Record-Eagle following a nationwide search, the paper's leadership announced Sunday.

"I'm so pleased to welcome Rebecca to the Record-Eagle team. Her leadership style and community focus is an exact fit for us right now. We're all looking forward to her contributions to our service to the Grand Traverse region," said Paul Heidbreder, Record-Eagle publisher.

Pierce arrives with a wealth of reporting and editing experience in community newspapers throughout Michigan, and fills a position vacated by Nate Payne, who left the newspaper in April to join Kaiser Health News as a regional editor.

Pierce, a University of Michigan graduate, previously worked for the Big Rapids Pioneer, the Chippewa Hills courier, The Daily News in Greenville, the Bay City Times and the Kalamazoo Gazette.

"What we do is the base of a strong community," Pierce, said of the importance of local newspapers. "There's nothing stronger, there's nothing more important in our work as journalists than being accountable to readers. The Record-Eagle does really good work and I'm excited to be a part of that."

Pierce's latest job was as editor of J-Ad Graphics Inc. publisher of five community newspapers —the Hastings Banner, which serves the Barry County area, the Reminder, the Maple Valley News, the Sun and News, which serves Middleville and Caledonia, and the Lakewood News.

In 2021, journalists with the Hastings Banner won a Michigan Press Association Wade H. McCree Award, for a series of stories detailing consequences of no-fault insurance reform on people with catastrophic injuries.

"The fundamental base of everything we do is the reporter and the photographer," Pierce said. "They are the people out there getting the story, telling the story, and what matters is making sure they have the support to do it right."

Pierce said readers would not likely notice any immediate changes, though in the longer term she is interested in multi-media storytelling and building a template for community newspapers to serve readers and ensure longterm viability.

Pierce said she plans to continue the relationship Payne established with the national non-profit, Report for America, which helps place and fund reporters in newspapers across the country.

Pierce relocates to northern Michigan from the center of the Lower Peninsula, is an amateur photographer and an avid biker, and said she looks forward to exploring the area's bike trails.

News Editor Allison Batdorff, who has worked for the Record-Eagle since 2014, is the interim editor. until Pierce assumes the newsroom's top job July 5.