Randy Lovely has
become the only openly gay editor of a major U.S.
newspaper after his promotion as vice president of news of
The Arizona Republic, according to Editor and Publisher.
Lovely, 43, is a
16-year employee at Gannett, which owns the newspaper.
He joined the Republic in 2002 as managing
editor and was then promoted to executive editor in 2005.
Lovely previously worked at The [Fort Myers,
Fla.] News-Press; The Times in
Shreveport, La.; and the Desert Sun in Palm
Springs, Calif.
He is replacing
Ward Bushee, who is moving to the San Francisco Chronicle.
According to
Editor and Publisher, Lovely is possibly
the first openly gay editor ever appointed to the top post
of a major daily in the U.S.; he follows Roy Aarons,
the former executive editor of the Oakland
Tribune who came out in 1990 after serving in his
position for seven years. Aarons died in 2004. (The
Advocate)
