By: E&P Staff Michael Cooke is resigning as editor of the New York Daily News and returning to Hollinger International Inc.'s Sun-Times News Group as Vice President, Editorial.
Cooke, 53, quit the Chicago Sun-Times just this past January, after serving as editor-in-chief at the paper for five years. He will begin his new position on Jan. 2.
John Barron will remain editor-in-chief of Sun-Times.
?We are delighted to announce Michael's return to the city he loves and that loves him,? John Cruickshank, Chief Operating Officer of the Sun-Times News Group, said in a statement. ?We know he will make a tremendous difference to the Group, and even further improve the high quality editorial coverage, which is great news for our readers. In this position, Michael will focus on enhancing the Group's award-winning content and increasing its Chicago-region leading readership.?
Crain's Chicago Business first reported the move late Friday. Crain's had earlier reported that Cooke was unhappy at the Daily News, a charge the editor denied in September.
Even in his short tenure at the News, Cooke
came under fire briefly last summer when the Daily News reprinted a story by Cooke that had originally appeared in the Sun-Times in 2004. The article, a first-person account of a trip to an exclusive castle in England, ran almost identically in the Sun-Times less than a year before it ran in the Daily News.
After the rival New York Post revealed the previous publication, Cooke downplayed the incident in an interview with E&P. "If you want to turn the journalism police on someone, I suggest the journalism police look at what they're doing," Cooke said at the time about the Post's charges. He framed the Post story as part of an ongoing battle between the papers. "I'm a target, and they're making it personal," he added.
In the Post's story, Keith J. Kelly wrote, "It is not quite plagiarism -- since he was the author of both pieces -- but it does raise credibility questions, some experts say, and may be a technical violation of international copyright laws."
In a note to Daily News staffers, Cooke said the timing of his departure means that he will "have a month to shake hands and have a drink with as many of you as possible.
"Working in this newsroom has been a marvelous experience for me," he wrote. "I have admired your talent, energy and dedication in our daily battle to beat the other guys. I have no doubt the Daily News will win the war."
A Daily News spokesperson told E&P that no decision had been made regarding Cooke's replacement and declined to comment further.
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