'Juneau Empire' Gets New Managing Editor

By: Michael Plett has been named managing editor of the Juneau Empire.

Plett joined the newspaper in June 2003 and has served as its interim managing editor since April when predecessor Lori Thomson stepped down.

Plett, 32, began at the Empire as a copy editor and page designer. He also has served as editor of the paper's Neighbors, Opinion and Hooligan sections.

He became the design editor in 2006, supervising the newspaper's page designers and copy editors. That year he was among the key players involved in the launch of Hooligan, the Empire's weekly entertainment section designed to attract younger readers.

Plett joined the Empire's editorial board last year and attended manager training at the Maynard Media Academy, hosted by the Neiman Foundation at Harvard University.

He was selected as a fellow for the Knight Digital Media Center's technology workshop for editors earlier this year.

"For the past four months, in his role as interim managing editor, Mr. Plett has done a rather good job of leading our newsroom and guiding coverage of Juneau and Southeast," publisher Robert Hale said. "His appointment as full-time managing editor gave us the chance once again to promote from within our organization, as we did with Lori Thomson in late 2003, and to further invest in the professional growth and development of one who has been a key part of our newsroom for the past few years."

Plett grew up in the Northern California town of Red Bluff and earned a journalism degree from Humboldt State University.

His first newspaper job was as a sports intern at the Redding Record Searchlight and he also worked as a reporter and editor at various weeklies. After graduation, he worked for three years as a graphic artist for the Modesto Bee.

Before joining the Empire, Plett took a break from journalism and worked as a cartographer.