Whisnant appointed exec editor for South Carolina Gannett pubs

The following excerpt was sent out from greenvilleonline.com:

Gabe Whisnant has been named executive editor of the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail.

As executive editor, Whisnant will also direct three Gannett weekly publications in SC’s Lowcountry – Bluffton Today, the Hampton County Guardian and the Jasper County Sun Times.

He has served as news director for Gannett’s SC publications since Sept. 2022 and has been the interim executive editor since Dec. 2022. Prior to that, he was the news director for the Herald-Journal.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to lead this dedicated team of South Carolina journalists. As a kid who grew up reading and learning about journalism through USA Today’s pages, I am truly humbled.” Whisnant said.

Whisnant is a native of Lattimore, N.C., and a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

He began his tenure working for publications in Shelby and Gastonia that are now owned by Gannett – first as a sports reporter in Shelby in 2006 then sports editor of the Shelby Star and Gaston Gazette in 2008.

Whisnant was named news director for his hometown Star in 2015. That year, he earned GateHouse Media’s Catalyst for Community Change award for directing the Star’s “Connect, Commit to Change” initiative – an annual event that connected volunteers with agencies that help people in need in Cleveland County, NC.

Whisnant was promoted within Gannett in 2017 when he was named as the assistant managing editor/digital editor for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal and GoUpstate.com. The Herald-Journal won the South Carolina Press Association’s President’s Cup and Website of the Year in 2018. He was among the Herald-Journal and Greenville News journalists honored in 2020 for a Best of Gannett award for South Carolina Election Coverage.

Whisnant succeeds Steve Bruss, who led the News from April 2020 to Sept. 2022.