Memo: Ottawa Citizen Editor Andrew Potter leaves paper to join McGill
Potter will stay with the Citizen until the end of February before leaving to join McGill as the director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada.
The following memo was sent on Jan. 12 from Gerry Nott, a senior vice-president at Postmedia.
It’s with mixed feelings I’m announcing today the departure of Andrew Potter as Editor of the Ottawa Citizen. Andrew has accepted a position as Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada, a role perfectly suited to his experience, interests and desire to call Montreal home.
I hired Andrew at the Citizen in September, 2011 as managing editor – a time when I challenged him to help rebuild the Citizen’s status of a paper of national importance in the coverage of federal politics. To say he over-delivered diminishes his effort. Under his guidance and with a strong team of writers, the paper won a National Newspaper Award and a Michener for reporting in that field.
As editor, Andrew distinguished himself in his leadership around the 2.0 launch. Through a very complicated and challenging period, Andrew moved from skeptic to strong advocate and proudly placed the Citizen at the forefront of our reimagined platforms, including innovation and growth in the digital field.
I consider Andrew a good friend and colleague who has left a very strong legacy at the Citizen. Please join me in wishing him all the best in his new adventure. He will stay with us till the end of February and a search for his replacement begins immediately.
