The Las Vegas Review Journal has named senior editorial writer Glenn Cook as interim editor, a move that could help steady the newsroom after a tumultuous four weeks.
During a Wednesday afternoon meeting, Cook told staff he was not a candidate for the job on a permanent basis and tried to assure staffers that his conservative views, evident on the opinion page, would not influence news coverage, according to staff tweets.
"Some of you might be concerned that, after being purchased by a family with right-of-center politics, the Review-Journal would tap a right-of-center opinion writer to lead the newsroom for a month or two," Cook told staff, referring to new owner, casino magnate and Republican donor Sheldon Adelson.
"But the tenacity and independence of this newsroom, proved time and again throughout our coverage of the Adelsons’ purchase," he continued, "is proof that even if it were my intention to inappropriately influence content, none of you would allow me to get away with it."
Though Cook resides on the opinion side of the operation, he is well-respected among Review-Journal reporters and wrote the paper's Dec. 20 front-page editorial promising transparency after the paper's murky transaction.
Cook told staff that he wouldn't have accepted the position if he believed ownership wanted to wield political influence through the Review-Journal's news pages, and referenced last month's editorial, which vowed to "disclose, disclose, disclose" when covering conflicts of interest involving the Adelson family.
The Review-Journal, and several smaller Nevada papers, were sold on Dec. 10 to an undisclosed buyer for $140 million, sparking a mystery that quickly spread from Nevada to the national media. The paper's staff publicly criticized the new owner's lack of transparency and also reported out the story. Despite obstacles from management, the Review-Journal revealed on Dec. 16 that the sale was arranged by Adelson's son-in-law.
“Obviously we wanted to report this first,” deputy editor James Wright told The Huffington Post the next day. “It was our paper and our story. When you don’t know who your owner is, there are questions about your ability to do your job, be objective. We felt like we had to have that first to maintain our credibility."
But the newsroom drama didn't end, as editor-in-chief Michael Hengel abruptly resigned the following week. Hengel later said that he'd read a Review-Journal editorial claiming he'd accepted a "voluntary buyout" before he'd even been formally offered one.
Earlier this week, New Media Investment Group, which previously owned the Review-Journal and will continue operating it under the Adelson family's ownership, tried setting limits on how the paper covers its owner's interests -- much to the staff's dismay. (For the full monthlong saga inside the newsroom, see NYU professor Jay Rosen's timeline.)
"We are excited that Glenn has agreed to assume this role and we know he will do a great job for the readers of the Review-Journal," New Media Investment Group CEO Mike Reed said in an email to HuffPost.
Publisher Jason Taylor told staff Wednesday that management has had some internal interest for the editor's job on a permanent basis, according to Review-Journal features editor Stephanie Grimes. Taylor also said the Adelson family has so far had no involvement with the paper “beyond offering resources to recruit a new editor.”
After the meeting, Cook emailed staff a new set of guidelines for covering the paper's ownership and its business interests.
This story has been updated to include comment from Cook.
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