Houston Chronicle biz editor promoted to senior editor

Houston Chronicle editor Nancy Barnes sent out the following announcement Friday afternoon:

We’re delighted to announce that Laura Goldberg has been promoted to Senior Editor for niche, new products and training, a position that will report to the executive editor. In this job, Laura will work across the newsroom, and with other departments in the company, to direct, coordinate and execute on a broad array of new and/or niche products, in print and in digital. She will also be in charge of planning training programs for the newsroom, with an emphasis on digital skills.

Laura joined the Chronicle in 1998 as a business reporter, first covering airlines and then energy. She was named business editor in 2006, and was among the first in the newsroom to lead her department from a print-centric focus to a digital-first model. Over the last decade, she has directed a number of award-winning stories, such as the coverage of the massive BP oil spill, and launched many successful new projects. Most significant of those was the development of the Fuelfix website, which the business team started from scratch and grew into a valued source of information for analysts, policymakers, energy workers and others. The niche products that were developed in business are also among the company’s most successful and profitable.

Prior to joining the Chronicle, Laura was a reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer and the News Press in Fort Myers. She has a bachelor’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism.

Please join us in thanking Laura for her terrific run as business editor, and congratulate her as she takes on this exciting new challenge. Laura will begin her new job on April 1, and we will immediately begin a national search for her replacement.