A Promotion for Bill Ruthhart

Of the many mentors we are blessed to have in the newsroom, Bill Ruthhart is one of the finest and most prolific - though you might not know it. As writing coach for our fellowship class, he helps guide the fellows through all manner of bumps and challenges.

He hones their story ideas, ledes and nutgraphs. He makes connections with other newsrooms to help our fellows and editing residents with job searches. He works on polishing résumés and cover letters. He helps us sift through thousands of applications to our programs. He drills down on journalism skills and the future of the industry with members of the Times Corps, our college mentorship program. He teaches classes on journalism fundamentals at The School of The New York Times. He attends conferences on the newsroom's behalf. And he has spoken to thousands of students at colleges from Chicago to Atlanta about the importance of independence and strong newsroom fundamentals.

And so, we are thrilled to announce that Bill is being promoted to senior early careers editor to be a thought leader for our team. In his new role, Bill will not only continue his extensive mentoring work, but also help us strategically evolve and expand our efforts to strengthen the newsroom talent pipeline. Those efforts include: adding structure to the many college visits and talks that our team undertakes; making curriculum improvements to The School of The New York Times; and adapting our early career programs so that they fit the needs of both tomorrow's newsroom and the candidate pool.

Bill joined us in 2022 from The Chicago Tribune where, as a reporter, he spent more than a decade digging into Chicago politics. He investigated state agencies, covered Rahm Emanuel's tumultuous tenure as mayor and wrote about regional and national politics, including the 2020 presidential race. He started his career at The Indianapolis Star, where he covered the governor's office, six legislative sessions and the 2008 presidential race.

Bill is a native of Rock Island, Ill., and is a graduate of Eastern Illinois University. He comes from a newspaper family: His father, Roger Ruthhart, was the longtime editor of The Dispatch/Rock Island Argus. Ask him anything about Chicago: Italian beef sandwiches, Illinois politics and especially his love of the Cubs.

Please join us in congratulating Bill.

- Ted and Carla