Amos Bridges named top News-Leader editor; Cheryl Whitsitt to depart Friday

Katie Kull | Springfield News-Leader

Amos Bridges, a 16-year veteran of the Springfield News-Leader, will become its editor effective Dec. 23.

He succeeds Cheryl Whitsitt, who is departing the News-Leader after a 32-year career. Her last day is Dec. 20.

Bridges is a Springfield native who graduated from Nixa High School and the University of Missouri-Columbia.

He serves on the boards of the Missouri Press Association, Missouri Sunshine Coalition and the Missouri Writers Hall of Fame.

Bridges, 39, started as an intern at the News-Leader in 2004 and covered various assignments, including crime and courts, before spending nearly a year writing about the city's push to solve chronic underfunding of its police-fire pension plan.

He covered city hall for many years, then wrote a reported column about watchdog issues before becoming the paper's investigative editor/watchdog coach in 2016.

"It is a privilege to be able to work as a journalist in the Ozarks and a great responsibility: to keep our readers informed, hold local institutions accountable, highlight our history, explain our challenges and help seek solutions. We capture our neighbors' joy and their grief and find answers to their questions," Bridges said. "I look forward to working with the stellar staff at the News-Leader as we continue to share those stories."

He also thanked the paper's past leadership.

"I am grateful for the many opportunities I've been given at the News-Leader and fortunate to have learned so much from the newsroom leaders who came before — Cheryl Whitsitt chief among them," he said.

'Many (memorable) projects'

Whitsitt started her path at the News-Leader in 1987 as a copy editor.

Over the years, she steadily rose up the ranks to become managing editor in 2002 and executive editor in 2017.

She has seen many big moments in Ozarks and Missouri history, recalling the night Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan was killed in a plane crash, the Joplin tornado and the infamous three-day ice storm that left some in Greene and surrounding counties without power for weeks.

She also remembered the News-Leader's coverage of 2003 tornadoes that tore through the area, killing 17 people throughout the state.

"Our coverage -- 17 pages that first day -- was shown on TV news the next day," she said.

She also remembered many of the reporters who have covered the Ozarks over the years, specifically citing former News-Leader reporter Laura Bauer.

Bauer published a series for the Kansas City Star over the weekend about the foster care system, including pieces about a pipeline from care to prison or homelessness. But her work started at the News-Leader when she wrote about a child who died in foster care, eventually bringing about changes to the system, Whitsitt said.

"There are many (memorable) projects, and I often think of those when I think of the reporters I worked with," she said. "There were so many talented reporters over the years."

She is also proud of her contribution to the News-Leader's Every Child project, which was the catalyst for community members recently to form the Every Child Promise, which advocates for the Ozarks' youngest and most vulnerable children.

Whitsitt said after she leaves, she's looking forward to participating in public life in a new way.

"I have paid close attention to issues over 32 years as a journalist, and now I maybe get to participate in them more as a community member," she said.

“I look forward to the strong journalism that the News-Leader staff will continue to produce under Amos Bridges’ leadership,” said Carol Hunter, executive editor of the Des Moines Register, who works with the News-Leader’s editor as part of the Gannett Network. “He brings to the job more than 15 years of experience as a reporter and editor, including supervision of investigations that have helped improve the safety and well-being of Missourians.

“I also wish Cheryl Whitsitt well. In her 32 years at the News-Leader, she has directed many important stories and nurtured a newsroom dedicated to providing accurate, trustworthy coverage of the Ozarks.”

This week is a bittersweet one for the News-Leader team, acknowledged Rick Green, Midwest regional editor of the USA TODAY Network.

“Cheryl is a consummate, passionate journalist who cares deeply about her staff and the Springfield community. We will miss her greatly,” he said.

“But I also am excited about Amos’ commitment to hard-hitting, compelling journalism that protects the interests of taxpayers. He will lead a staff that is dedicated to telling important stories of the Ozarks, and I’m eager to see what they do in the months ahead.”