Britannica names Tracy Grant editor-in-chief

The Britannica Group, which publishes the Encyclopaedia Britannica and many other information and instructional products under the Britannica and Merriam-Webster brands, has announced the appointment of veteran Washington Post editor Tracy Grant to the position of editor-in-chief.

As the company's top editor, Grant will supervise Britannica's editorial and media staff and oversee the expansion and maintenance of multiple information and media databases for lifelong and K-16 learners worldwide. She'll work closely with Britannica's technology, instructional, product development and marketing teams on the creation of new products and services.

Grant joins a long line of eminent Britannica editors stretching back to 1768, when William Smellie, a 28-year-old scholar in Edinburgh, Scotland, compiled Britannica's first edition. However, the position Grant will occupy is even more important than that of her predecessors. With the world awash in misinformation, disinformation and information lacking context, the need for Britannica's rigorous editorial process has never been more essential to creating a society of engaged and well-informed citizens. Part of Grant's mandate will be to expand Britannica's editorial capabilities to increase the quantity and quality of Britannica's content portfolio and to improve the growing number of information services provided to K-16 learners worldwide.

"Tracy really is an editor for the 21st century," said Britannica CEO Jorge Cauz. "She was there on the ground floor of digital publishing and understands the challenges and opportunities of today's fast-moving information environment. From her long tenure at The Post, an organization that shares Britannica's values of truthfulness and accuracy, I know she is well prepared to uphold those values at a time when they are under attack."

Grant has been The Washington Post's managing editor for staff development and standards since 2018, the second woman in the newspaper's history to achieve that rank. She joined The Post in 1993 and served in several editorial positions before becoming the newsroom's first Web editor in 1999. She was a features editor and parenting columnist before being named to the role of senior editor in 2013. She became deputy managing editor in 2014. During her tenure, Grant nearly doubled the journalist staff and expanded its diversity and equity initiatives. She is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

"I couldn't be more excited to be joining Encyclopaedia Britannica," Grant said. I've spent my career at a news organization that is committed to telling the truth. But I know that to truly understand the truth, people need all that Britannica has to offer: Not just the facts but also the context and history that elevate information to knowledge. The mission is to use all of Britannica's tools to educate and uphold the values of accuracy and integrity for a new generation. It will be challenging; it will be exciting; it will be fun. I can't wait to get started."

About Britannica:

The Britannica Group is a global knowledge leader. A pioneer in digital learning since the early 1980s, it serves the instructional and information needs of students, educators, lifelong learners and professionals by providing curriculum products, language-study courses and digital encyclopedias.

Britannica's digital properties attract more than 6 billion annual pageviews and 130 million casual learners every month, and it serves 150 million students in 156 countries and in 16 languages. The company is headquartered in Chicago.