Ritter, former AP and USA Today business editor, is retiring

Hal Ritter, who was business editor of the Associated Press from 2008 to 2013 and previously business editor of the Times-Union in Rochester, N.Y., and managing editor/Money of USA Today, is retiring next month.

Current AP business editor Kevin Shinkle sent out the following to the staff on Thursday:

I wanted to pass on the news that Hal is retiring after a long and distinguished career in journalism that most certainly includes his tenure as business editor here at the AP. His last day is Sunday, April 6.

Before becoming weekend editor, Hal taught us all to shoot higher every day — whether it was developing great ideas, editing better, digging deeper in our reporting or writing more conversationally. Details matter. Numbers are critical. Think, analyze and explain.

Sure, he had his faults. He had great shoes — if only he had worn them more often at his desk. And his proclivity to edit emails for grammar? Irritating to be sure. Who? Whom? Whatever.

But Hal came to work every day ready to do great journalism. I know I will miss his mentoring and his friendship. He was a tireless advocate for this department and the importance of business and economic news in general. Under his direction, our department got on a roll that hopefully continues long into the future.

Please join me in wishing him well as he embarks on his next chapter.

Hopefully, this note was written for readers.

Ritter has a degree in journalism from the University of Kansas and an MBA from Stanford Business School. In 2000, Ritter was named one of the 100 greatest business journalists of the 20th century by TJFR and MasterCard. In February, he was named AP weekend editor.