The Austin native will take the helm of The Texas Newsroom, a public radio journalism collaboration that includes NPR, KERA in North Texas, Houston Public Media, KUT in Austin, Texas Public Radio in San Antonio and other stations across the state.
Corrie MacLaggan, managing editor of the pioneering digital news site The Texas Tribune, will become the new statewide managing editor for the public radio stations of The Texas Newsroom.
MacLaggan is a bilingual Austin native who’s reported and edited for Reuters, the Austin American-Statesman, the El Paso Times and publications in Mexico City. She’ll replace Mark Memmott, who retired earlier this year.
"I am beyond thrilled to be joining the talented team at The Texas Newsroom because I'm passionate about solving the local news crisis — and because I believe that Texas is the best place in the world to be a journalist,” MacLaggan said. “I'm also a public radio super-fan, and I look forward to working strategically to expand the public radio audience to better reflect the diversity of Texas."
The Texas Newsroom is the first regional news hub in NPR’s Collaborative Journalism Network; similar regional newsrooms are being built in California, the Gulf states and the Midwest. The Texas effort is a partnership between NPR, KERA in North Texas, Houston Public Media, KUT in Austin, Texas Public Radio in San Antonio and other stations across the state.
“With collaborations such as the Texas Newsroom, NPR is helping stations partner together to launch more ambitious journalism efforts than they could do alone,” said Tamar Charney, NPR’s acting senior director of collaborative journalism. “Corrie’s deep understanding of how to provide engaging, high-caliber journalism about Texas on digital platforms is just what the Texas Newsroom needs as we reach out to younger and more diverse audiences on the digital platforms where they seek their news.”
When she starts in June, MacLaggan will lead a Texas Newsroom staff of eight journalists based at stations across Texas, and she’ll be the chief connector between more than 100 public radio journalists statewide. She’ll be employed by KERA and based at KUT.
MacLaggan spent eight years at the Tribune, the last five as a managing editor. During that time, she led the Tribune’s partnership with the investigative public radio show “Reveal” and spearheaded a fellowship program that built to more than 30 fellows last year.
"We are very excited about collaborating with Corrie in her new role,” said KUT’s executive editor, Teresa Frontado. “Her thoughtfulness as a leader, emphasis on diversity and inclusion, as well as her vision of how we can expand the Texas Newsroom's reach within digital platforms will surely elevate the stories that we produce every day for our audiences around the state. ¡Bienvenida, Corrie!"