AP biz editor Ritter named Kansan of the Year

Associated Press business editor Hal Ritter was named a Kansan of the Year by the Topeka Capital-Journal.

Here is an excerpt:

Work: Began his career as a reporter and then editor at the Times-Union in Rochester, N.Y. Became deputy managing editor of USA Today’s Money section in 1982, managing editor of that section from 1985-95 and managing editor of news from 1995-2004, leaving after it was discovered reporter Jack Kelley had plagiarized and invented stories. “Don’t assume others will do the right thing,” Ritter said, saying the statement extended beyond Kelley. Joined the AP in 2006 and was named business editor in June.

Best accomplishment: Built two of four newsrooms at USA Today — Money and News. Made the Money section competitive with The Wall Street Journal. As managing editor/news, made the weakest section of the newspaper competitive with The New York Times.

Future project or goal: Make AP Business News as good as or better than every AP competitor. “Responsibility for global coverage of business and financial news means a chance to shape coverage of the biggest story of my career, perhaps the biggest story of our time,” he said.Â

Read more here.