Dana Canedy, the former publisher of Simon & Schuster, was named managing editor of Guardian U.S. on Tuesday, the latest executive to join the American edition of the British newspaper company.
Ms. Canedy, 57, will be one of the highest-ranking executives in the Guardian U.S. newsroom, reporting to the editor in chief, Betsy Reed. Ms. Reed is herself a relatively recent hire, having joined the publication in September.
Ms. Canedy is a seasoned executive who has held senior positions across the media industry. Before joining Simon & Schuster in 2020, she was the administrator of the Pulitzer Prizes, steering the selection process for journalism’s most prestigious awards for three years.
The appointment represents a return to daily journalism for Ms. Canedy, who was a reporter and senior editor at The New York Times for more than 20 years. Ms. Canedy was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2001 for the series “How Race Is Lived in America,” and in 2008 she published a memoir, “A Journal for Jordan,” which became a movie directed by Denzel Washington.
Ms. Canedy left Simon & Schuster last year to write a sequel to her memoir. She was the first Black woman to serve as the publisher of Simon & Schuster’s flagship imprint, a development that was welcomed in the overwhelmingly white upper ranks of the publishing industry.
During her time at Simon & Schuster, Ms. Canedy won praise for acquiring books by prominent Black journalists and scholars, including the journalist and editor Errin Haines and the Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson, a fellow Pulitzer Prize winner. But some of her decisions drew criticism from her staff, many of whom signed an open letter protesting her decision to publish an autobiography by former Vice President Mike Pence.
In a statement on Tuesday, Ms. Canedy said she was “honored” to join Guardian U.S., adding that she has “long admired the Guardian’s values.” In a separate statement, Ms. Reed lauded Ms. Canedy’s “wealth of experience and knowledge.”
Ms. Canedy will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the newsroom, advancing its editorial ambitions and managing coverage of major stories. She will start later this month.
