Memo announcing new Miami Herald biz editor

Anders Gyllenhaal, the executive editor of the Miami Herald, providing Talking Biz news with the memo sent out Tuesday announcing the paper’s new business editor — Jane Wooldridge.

The memo states, “We’re pleased to announce that Jane Wooldridge, a long-time Herald editor with a strong entrepreneurial streak who has handled everything from web ventures to numerous print upstarts, is our new Business Editor.

“Jane brings a mix of business savvy, community contacts and high editorial standards to the job. As Travel Editor, she approached her role as ‘part brand manager, strategic planner, new product developer . . . interdepartmental facilitator, budget-and-staff manager, new business initiator, multi-media specialist and production manager in print and online.’

“This is precisely the kind of thinking we know she will bring to her new role.

“We were in the enviable position of having a lot of capable candidates for the position, which made the selection process more difficult. In the end, we’ll end up with a strong leadership team in Business, with
the expertise and experience of Mimi Whitefield and Terence Shepherd, and a talented staff tracking the biggest stories of the year.

“Jane started at The Herald in 1983 as a fashion writer, then became the Society Columnist — a post that yielded an enviable Rolodex. She was assistant travel editor when she was tapped in 1994 to head Destination Florida, a Knight-Ridder Tribune pioneering online venture that took her outside The Herald for two years. It was the first editorial destination site on AOL and the World Wide Web.

“She returned to The Herald in 1996 to write a business column as well as Business Monday covers. After three years, Jane became Travel Editor. During her 10 years, she has developed and launched a succession of new products, including an upscale lifestyle magazine (RSVP) to, most recently, Weekend Getaways, a monthly magazine that targets non-Herald readers via salons, coffee shops and other retail outlets.

“A consummate professional who is painstakingly detailed, Jane is also active in the community and professional organizations, frequently representing The Herald locally and nationally. She was named the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year, the highest accolade for a travel writer, and also was the recipient of the Knight-Ridder Award of Excellence.

“A genuine travel fanatic, her travels (both for work and leisure) have taken her to much of the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia, with a few out-of-the way stops such as Mali, Tunisia and Mongolia. She recently hit her 100th country — Colombia.”