Golas of 'Inquirer' Named Editor in Wilkes-Barre

By: (AP) Matthew V. Golas, the metro editor at The Philadelphia Inquirer, has been named executive vice president and editor of Wilkes-Barre's Times Leader.

Golas, 51, has been with the Inquirer since 1986, when he started as assistant sports editor. He also served as Delaware County editor, deputy sports editor, and New Jersey editor.

Golas will join the Times Leader on April 11. He replaces Allison Walzer, who left in January.

"I want the paper to be the hot book, the must read," he said. "I want it to grab people when they read it."

Patrick McHugh, the Times Leader president and publisher, met Golas in the late 1990s when both worked at the Inquirer. Both papers are owned by Knight Ridder Inc.

"It was really clear to me this was a person with terrific experience, a great leadership background and, most important to me, the right values," McHugh said.

A 1975 graduate of Catholic University in Washington, Golas wrote for The Washington Star and the local archdiocesan paper, the Catholic Standard, before moving on to The Dallas Morning News and then The Hartford Courant.