Categories: OLD Media Moves

San Antonio biz editor resigns to become political spokesman

San Antonio Express-News business editor Greg Jefferson is leaving the newspaper to join the mayoral campaign of state Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio.

John Tedesco of the Express-News writes, “Jefferson, 45, said Monday he’ll be Villarreal’s communications director. He said Villarreal called him ‘out of the blue’ before Thanksgiving to talk about the campaign and eventually offered him the job.

“‘He made a really compelling case,’ Jefferson said. ‘I mean, he explained to me why he was running, he explained to me his game plan. It’s clear to me this is a formidable campaign.’

“Villarreal said Jefferson’s knowledge of San Antonio prompted the phone call.”

Read more here. Jefferson re-joined the San Antonio Express-News in December 2012, just in time to launch the newspaper’s Sunday business section and stand-alone business pages on Monday. He also writes a weekly column on business and the city’s economy.

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.