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Roger Simmons will become executive editor of the Orlando Sentinel, the news organization announced Wednesday, replacing Julie Anderson, who will retire this month.
"I'm just very humbled," said Simmons, a Florida native and University of Central Florida graduate who grew up reading the Sentinel. "I've been in awe through the years of all the great reporting this newspaper has done."
Anderson disclosed the news during an afternoon staff meeting. Simmons, 59, will move into his new role Dec. 14, the day after Anderson steps down.
"He's a good leader," Anderson said. "He loves our community. He loves the Sentinel. And I'm very happy that he's going to continue what we started here, in terms of strong local journalism."
Greg Mazanec, regional publisher of the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel, also lauded Simmons. "As I've observed Roger these past three years, he has impressed me with his passion for journalism and his strong commitment to serving Central Florida," he said. "I'm confident he will be a strong leader for the newsroom."
As executive editor, Simmons will oversee a staff of dozens of journalists, including editors, reporters and photographers based in Central Florida, Gainesville and Tallahassee who cover business, real estate, government, breaking news and sports. He also will take on the added responsibility of overseeing the Sentinel's editorial pages.
Simmons said his main priority will be continuing the Sentinel's focus on watchdog journalism and investigative reporting, for digital platforms and in print.
"The main thing I want to continue ... is doing the stories that other people aren't doing," he said. "We want to concentrate on stories that people don't know about that they should know about. And I think that's what the hallmark of our newsroom is, and should be going forward."
He called the Sentinel "a trusted brand" that is "desperately needed with just so much misinformation around."
As examples, Simmons cited the Sentinel's recent investigative reporting on pedestrian deaths in Central Florida; its probe of former GOP legislator Carolina Amesty, who was indicted on felony charges related to her work for her family's small college; and last year's "Toxic Secret" investigation, which revealed the presence of the synthetic solvent 1,4-dioxane in tap water in west Seminole County.
"Those were stories that other news outlets weren't doing," he said.
Simmons also wants to look at expanding the Sentinel's news coverage in Lake County.
"We need to go where the growth is," he said.
However, he acknowledged the Sentinel -- much like nearly every other newspaper in the country -- faces challenges with dwindling financial resources and the resulting smaller staff.
"So we have to prioritize," he said. "And there are times that we will skip stories -- and pass on doing them -- because they are all over TV stations. Because they're already available for folks."
Simmons recalled reading the Sentinel as a child when visiting his grandparents in Lake County.
His first job in journalism came in the mid-1980s as a reporter and editor at the daily DeLand Sun News in west Volusia County.
In 1988, he joined Tribune Media Services as an editor for cable TV news products. Five years later, he was hired at the Orlando Sentinel as a sports copy editor and eventually moved up to deputy sports editor.
In 2006, he was promoted to senior editor of OrlandoSentinel.com, a new position in which helped develop the organization's online presence.
"My responsibility was to be a digital evangelist and get the newsroom more involved with digital," he said.
He later was named as the Sentinel's first breaking news editor, overseeing a staff of a dozen reporters who would quickly jump on a story to report it first on the website and then for the print edition.
In 2010, Simmons moved into a corporate role and became director of digital content for Tribune Media's east coast properties -- including in Baltimore; Hartford, Conn.; Allentown, Pa.; Virginia, South Florida and Orlando.
Simmons returned to the Sentinel at the end of 2012, and became the publication's sports editor. He was named managing editor in 2019, where he has since overseen the newsroom's day-to-day operations.
Simmons looks forward to celebrating the Sentinel's 150th anniversary in July 2026. The paper started out as the Orange County Reporter in 1876. Planning for the celebration will kick off next July, according to Simmons.
"I want us to look back at how important the Sentinel has been over 150 years in our area," he said. "And to just remind people of all the things we've been able to do and report on ... We're still as relevant today as we were back then."
Simmons and his wife, Lisa Cianci, live in east Orange County. They have an adult son.
Also on Wednesday, Gretchen Day-Bryant was named executive editor of the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Orlando Sentinel's sibling news organization.
Anderson announced in October that she would retire as editor-in-chief of Orlando Sentinel Media Group and South Florida's Sun Sentinel Media Group, a role she served in since 2018. Her career spanned more than three decades with Tribune Publishing.