In July 2012, Digital First Media, which co-manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company, announced Robyn Tomlin as Editor of Thunderdome, the Company’s centralized digital news operation.

Ms. Tomlin, 41, who most recently served as Executive Editor of the StarNews in Wilmington, N.C., will report to DFM’s Editor-in-Chief, Jim Brady, and will be responsible for non-local content across the Company’s network of more than 800 multi-platform products.

“Robyn understands the challenges facing local newsrooms because she has been there – as a reporter, an editor and in leading editorial innovation efforts for newsrooms across the New York Times Regional Media Group. She is one of the most innovative and forward-thinking journalists I know and she has embraced the challenges our industry is facing by turning them into opportunities,” said Jim Brady, Editor-in-Chief of Digital First Media. “As the editor running Project Thunderdome, she will lead all non-local news gathering efforts on all platforms and will coordinate that coverage with our local editors – allowing our newsrooms to free up resources for more local content.”

Digital First Media’s Thunderdome, based in New York City, will provide content for the more than 800 multi-platform products – including print, web and mobile – produced by MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company.

“Thunderdome is about both expanding and enhancing our content offerings and empowering our newsrooms to do what they do best – telling stories that matter to their local readers. By providing our newsrooms with the highest-quality non-local news – including national, world and lifestyle news – we are enabling our journalists to dig deeper and find stories that are not just engaging but that also make a difference in their communities,” said Ms. Tomlin. “I think it’s important to note that Thunderdome isn’t just about efficiency. It’s about improving the quality of the content we deliver across all platforms and providing a support system for our newsrooms across the country. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to play a part in such an innovative and aggressive effort by a company that is clearly focused on the future.”

Ms. Tomlin started her career as a reporter at the North Hills News Record in suburban Pittsburgh and later worked as a reporter and editor at the Asheville, N.C. Citizen-Times before serving as managing editor and later executive editor of the TimesDaily in Florence, Alabama. She has also served as executive editor of the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner and was named Director of Content Innovation for the New York Times Regional Media Group in 2010 where she led audience growth and digital innovation efforts for 15 news organizations across six states.

Under Ms. Tomlin’s leadership the Star News received dozens of state and national journalism honors including the 2009 Knight-Batten Award for Journalistic Innovation in Civic Media. Ms. Tomlin also serves as Membership Co-Chair for the American Society of News Editors.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication in 1996, Ms. Tomlin is married and has two children.