Leadership changes coming to Anchorage Daily News

Several changes are coming to the leadership of the Anchorage Daily News, including the departure of the editor and the publisher, owner and president Ryan Binkley announced Monday.

David Hulen, who has led the newsroom as editor since 2015, has decided to retire after more than 38 years with the Daily News. His retirement is effective March 15.

Andy Pennington, who as publisher has overseen overall operations of the company since 2018, is leaving that role on Feb. 3, Binkley said. Pennington will become regional president and publisher for Adams Publishing Group in Southern Wisconsin.

Binkley said he will step into the role of publisher after Pennington’s departure. Pennington will continue in a consulting role with the company, he said.

Managing editor Vicky Ho will become interim editor after Hulen’s departure while the company conducts a search for a permanent top newsroom leader, Binkley said.

Kea Cuaresma, currently ADN’s chief revenue officer, will become vice president of revenue and community engagement, overseeing sales, subscriptions, events and community relations.

In a memo to staff, Binkley said the changes “signal an inflection point in the history of the ADN. I think when we look back on the beginning of 2025 it will mark the start of a new phase and it’s one that I’m very excited about.”

The Daily News is the most-read news site and newspaper in Alaska. It was purchased by the Binkley Co. in 2017 after the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under previous ownership. The newspaper for many years had been owned by the McClatchy chain, then was sold in 2014 to Alice Rogoff, who owned the website Alaska Dispatch.

Hulen, a former reporter and longtime editor at the ADN, helped lead the organization’s digital transition over the past two decades. He reported extensively from throughout Alaska and was part of the team that produced the 1988 series, “A People in Peril,” which was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for public service (the newspaper’s second). In 2019, he was co-editor of “Lawless,” a series in collaboration with ProPublica that was awarded the ADN’s third Pulitzer Prize.

“It’s ... hard to overstate the impact David has had on this organization — and by extension on our community,” Binkley wrote. “He guided the newsroom through a metamorphosis caused by the bankruptcy and layoffs. … He exuded a relentless steadiness that was the anchor in choppy seas. He is always calm, willing to out-work anyone, and cares so deeply about this paper and this place that he will do whatever it takes to ensure both are left better than he found them.”

Binkley praised Pennington, who was hired in 2018 after being publisher of the Idaho State Journal in Pocatello, and also overseeing other publications in the region owned by Pioneer News Group.

“If there was one single person (and there isn’t) who we can point to who dragged this company out of bankruptcy, it’s Andy,” Binkley wrote. “It’s not hyperbole to say that we wouldn’t all be here doing this work today if it wasn’t for Andy. … One thing about Andy is that he is absolutely fearless before a challenge.”

Pennington said, “Working with this team over the last seven years has been a pleasure. We have accomplished so much and have been able to get past what seemed like insurmountable challenges. We built a robust event division, found highly talented people, and developed a strong paid digital audience. I have complete confidence in our team and their ability to continue delivering excellence to our staff and customers. Working with everyone here at the ADN has been an honor, and I look forward to seeing it continue to thrive and grow.”

Ho joined the ADN in 2015 from the Steamboat Pilot & Today in Colorado. She has helped lead digital transformation efforts at the ADN that resulted in dramatic increases in digital subscribers as well as growth in Alaska readership, and has served in a number of newsroom roles. In addition to her work at the ADN, she has coached newsrooms from across the country working to transition to a sustainable digital publishing model, as part of an intensive program hosted by the Poynter Institute. She was named managing editor in 2022.

“She is more than qualified to guide the newsroom through our search for the next permanent editor of ADN,” Binkley wrote. “We plan to begin that search in the coming weeks and will name the next editor when we’ve found the right person. In the meantime, Vicky will be working very closely with David to ensure a smooth handoff, which will hopefully include filling some open positions in the newsroom in the next few months.”

Cuaresma has had a number of roles at the ADN in more than 18 years with the company.

“She is thoughtful and aggressive and will be just the person we need to drive new initiatives and level-up existing ones,” Binkley said. “Kea will also oversee community relations and serve as the face of ADN in the community. I’m very excited to see Kea step up to lend her enthusiasm and energy to pushing ADN forward.”

Binkley said his new role as publisher is a pared-down version of the job Pennington has held but that he expects to be more involved in the company’s day-to-day operations.

“I see my role chiefly as making sure that Vicky, (Joshua Petersen, the company’s chief financial officer) and Kea have what they need to lead their teams successfully. It will be fun to see how these emergent leaders tackle the inevitable challenges ahead, and to watch them put their unique imprints on this place the way that David, Andy, and others have over the decades.”

The news industry faces a number of challenges, from the loss of advertising revenue to fragmenting audiences. Binkley said the past year was the most challenging for the ADN since emerging from bankruptcy in 2017. Over the summer, the ADN reduced print publication to two days a week from six. While digital subscriptions have grown year-over-year and now approach 19,000, the growth was less than anticipated, he said. Editorial employees last year voted to unionize.

In his message, Binkley thanked the staff, and stressed the importance of the work the ADN does and that it remains a sustainable enterprise.

“We continue to grow digital subscribers and to be profitable, maintaining our two pillars of survival,” he wrote. “It’s a strange paradox that papers like the ADN have never been more needed, and yet have never been more challenged … Looking back on the last seven years, nobody could have guessed the twists and turns that brought us to 2025 and the only thing I’m sure of is that none of us can guess the twists and turns that are ahead. Our job is to be nimble, hard-working, and to always serve our customers — readers and advertisers — in a way that hopefully makes this place a little better every day.”