Romenesko+ Misc.
The founder of MediaBugs.org and former Salon.com managing editor says he and the Grist team “share passions for hard-hitting journalism, lively writing, and authentic community-building.” The release announcing the appointment says: “With extensive experience in journalism, technology, and online community-building, Scott Rosenberg is perfectly positioned to help Grist pursue its mission of empowering a new generation to create a more sustainable future.” Launched in 1999, Grist takes a “wry twist” to environmental news and commentary and says “we take our work seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously.”
Press release
Grist Names Scott Rosenberg as Executive Editor
Salon co-founder and award-winning author joins pioneering green news site

Seattle, Wash. (Sept. 12, 2011) — Grist (www.grist.org), the influential and irreverent green news site, is pleased to announce that Scott Rosenberg is stepping into the role of executive editor. With extensive experience in journalism, technology, and online community-building, Rosenberg is perfectly positioned to help Grist pursue its mission of empowering a new generation to create a more sustainable future.
Rosenberg was a co-founder of Salon.com, serving as its first technology editor and its longtime managing editor, and developing the Open Salon blogging community. He’s the author of two books, Say Everything: How Blogging Began, What It’s Becoming, and Why It Matters and Dreaming in Code: Two Dozen Programmers, Three Years, 4,732 Bugs, and One Quest for Transcendent Software. Most recently, he conceived of and launched MediaBugs.org, a Knight Foundation-funded project to correct factual errors and other problems in media coverage. Rosenberg, a graduate of Harvard University, began his career as a theater and film critic for newspapers in Boston and San Francisco.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Grist team,” said Rosenberg. “For years I’ve been a big fan of what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. We share passions for hard-hitting journalism, lively writing, and authentic community-building.”
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“We’re delighted to have Scott join us at Grist, and excited about everything he brings to the table,” said Grist Founder and CEO Chip Giller. “Scott’s experience runs deep and his enthusiasm is infectious. With his vision and leadership, we look forward to increasing our editorial offerings, expanding our impact, and finding the best new ways to get more people living and thinking sustainably.”
“Grist has always set the standard for reporting on the environment, and now with the hiring of Scott, we can expect even greater things,” said Joan Walsh, former editor-in-chief of Salon and a longtime colleague of Rosenberg’s. “No one knows more than Scott about the changing face of media and the challenges and rewards of building community online. I’m excited to see where he helps lead Grist over the coming months and years.”Â
Rosenberg will begin his job at Grist on Sept. 12. “I’m particularly excited to be joining Grist at this critical moment for both green issues and media,” he said. “Our environmental challenges are as great as ever, but there’s immense energy brewing today, both online and offline. Together all of us are reinventing how we inform ourselves about the forces shaping our world, and we’re reshaping our lives based on that knowledge. Nothing is more important than getting all this right — and having some fun along the way.”
