Melendez named editor of South Florida Biz Journal

Mel Melendez

Mel Meléndez, the managing editor of the South Florida Business Journal, has been promoted to editor of the American City Business Journals paper.

He replaces Al Lewis, who left to become business editor of the Houston Chronicle.

Brian Bandell of the Business Journal writes, “President and Publisher Melanie Dickinson tapped Meléndez for the media outlet’s top editorial post after he worked as the media outlet’s managing editor since 2013. During this period, Meléndez directed the SFBJ’s digital strategy, edited the majority of its stories in print and online, and oversaw the paper’s redesign only months after starting his role.

“‘Mel has a keen understanding of and love for our marketplace,’ Dickinson said. ‘He knows the importance of a business journal to the business community, and we are excited to have him continue to lead our newsroom of talented journalists as editor-in-chief.’

“Meléndez has nearly two decades of journalism experience, including positions with the North County Times in San Diego, South Florida Sun Sentinel and Arizona Republic in Phoenix. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, he earned an accounting degree from the University of Puerto Rico, and a journalism degree from San Francisco State University.”

Read more here.

Chris Roush

Chris Roush was the dean of the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. He was previously Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.