Reuters.com names opinion editor

Dan Colarusso, the executive editor of digital at Reuters, sent out the following staff hire announcement on Thursday:

I’m happy to announce that Jason Fields is joining Reuters.com as Editor-in-Charge of its Opinion section.

A journalist with a broad set of interests, Jason has compelling plans for the section, including the addition of more graphic-rich, data-driven and multimedia content as we push toward a thoroughly modern online commentary offering.

In Jason, we’re bringing on an editor with leadership experience across various content types and media companies. Over the last two decades he worked at publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post and was the editor of the Pulitzer prize-winning Riverdale Press. For five years he served as senior multimedia producer at the Associated Press, where he led a 14-person team responsible for creating daily syndicated multimedia news packages for major media.  Most recently, he was the National Channel Manager for Digital First Media, where he was responsible for both daily coverage and long-term strategy for national news at Project Thunderdome.

Oh, and in his spare time, he wrote a historical mystery novel “Death in Twilight: A Murder in the Midst of a Holocaust” that was published in 2013.

I’ve known Jason personally for a few years and have found him to be smart, forward-thinking and of the highest integrity. I think his addition will help the entire Reuters.com operation. His first day will be May 5.