USA Today’s top editor has abruptly left the company, the company told employees on Tuesday, the second editor in chief to do so in less than two years.
Caren Bohan, who was named editor in chief in September 2024, will no longer continue in her role “effective immediately,” according to an email to staff from Monica Richardson, the senior vice president of USA Today.
“Caren Bohan has been a valued colleague during her tenure at USA Today,” Ms. Richardson wrote. “We sincerely wish her well and thank her for her many contributions.” A company spokeswoman declined to comment further.
Ms. Bohan, previously the executive editor for politics at USA Today, became the interim editor in chief in July 2024, when Terence Samuel, a former executive at National Public Radio, left the role after a year. In an interview after his departure, Mr. Samuel described it as “sudden” but did not give further reasons for why he left.
At the time, USA Today said it would conduct a national search to replace Mr. Samuel. Ms. Bohan was permanently named the editor in chief that September. Ms. Richardson said at the time that Ms. Bohan had “excelled” in the interim role and that it was “especially meaningful to elevate a leader from our talented newsroom to drive our growth and innovation as we invigorate the USA Today brand.”
USA Today is the flagship newspaper from USA Today Company, a publisher that was known as Gannett until last month. USA Today Company is the largest newspaper publisher in the country, with more than 200 local newspapers across 42 states, including The Des Moines Register, The Tennessean and The Arizona Republic.
Ms. Richardson said in her email on Tuesday that Michael McCarter, who oversees opinion teams across USA Today’s network, would lead the publication on an interim basis while the publication runs a national search for a permanent leader. The new role, Ms. Richardson said, would have the title vice president of news.
“This transition from editor in chief underscores our strategic priority to further position news as a pillar of USA Today, alongside entertainment, sports and the service-driven content that connects our audience and fuels our growth,” she said.
Katie Robertson covers the media industry for The Times. Email: [email protected]
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