Cleveland biz journalist to join Florida paper as opinion and engagement editor

Marcia Pledger, a former business reporter and columnist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, has been named The Florida Times-Union’s new opinion and engagement editor.

Beth Reese Cravey of The Times-Union reports, “Pledger, 55, began her journalism career at the Las Vegas Review-Journal as a crime reporter. She worked at the Plain Dealer for 23 years before taking a buyout during a round of layoffs in 2019. She has spent the last two years as a freelance writer.

“‘Newspapers continue to change drastically in a challenging media environment … so after a 30-year newspaper career I was ready for a change,’ she said. ‘I’m thrilled about the opportunity to play an entirely different role in Jacksonville at a time when papers are rethinking editorial pages and seeking new ways to engage with the community, guest columnists, letters to the editor and younger audiences in order to increase digital subscriptions.’

“Pledger said she is “most excited” about the community engagement component of the job.

“‘I’m looking forward to being on the scene to listen, observe and learn,’ she said. ‘ plan to find as many opportunities as I can to engage with people in the community, whether it’s a planned event, an impromptu positive or negative gathering, or a one-on-one meeting.”

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