Chris Coates is an American journalist who serves as senior director of local news at Lee Enterprises. He has held editorial leadership roles at several regional newspapers and worked in newsroom strategy and development. He has been recognized by Editor & Publisher and industry organizations for his leadership in journalism. [1]
Coates was born in Trenton, Michigan. He graduated from Trenton High School and earned a Bachelor of Arts in broadcast journalism from Columbia College Chicago in 2004. [2] While at Columbia, he served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Columbia Chronicle . [3]
Coates began his journalism career in California in 2004, reporting for the Los Angeles Downtown News and later the San Fernando Valley Business Journal in Woodland Hills, California, where he covered healthcare, biotechnology, and government. [4]
He later joined the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis as a reporter and editor. [5] From 2011 to 2016, he held editorial leadership positions at the Sioux City Journal in Iowa, including as editor. [6] During that time, the paper received General Excellence awards from the National Newspaper Association. [7]
In 2015, Coates became a content coach at The News Journal in Delaware, part of the USA Today Network, with a focus on investigative reporting. [8]
In 2017, Coates became executive editor of the Herald & Review in Decatur, Illinois. In 2019, the paper was included in Editor & Publisher’s "10 Newspapers That Do It Right," a feature recognizing newsroom innovation and performance. [9]
He later served as Central Illinois editor for Lee Enterprises, overseeing multiple publications including the Pantagraph in Bloomington, Illinois. [10]
In 2022, Coates became executive editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch [11] in Richmond, Virginia, and was promoted the following year to Virginia state editor for Lee Enterprises. In 2023, he was appointed senior director - local news for the company. [12] [13]
Coates has led newsroom training sessions for the News Leaders Association, Illinois Press Association, New York Press Association, Online Media Campus, and the Virginia Press Association. [14] [15]
He has served on the boards of the Virginia Press Association and Illinois Associated Press Media Editors, as well as on the advisory board of Capitol News Illinois and the Journalism Education Committee, Society of Professional Journalists. [16] [17]
Coates has judged national journalism competitions, including the Online News Association Awards, the Editor & Publisher EPPY Awards, Report for America, and the Gannett Awards of Excellence.
In 2013, Coates was included in Editor & Publisher’s “25 Under 35” list. [18] He was named Editor of the Year by the Illinois Press Association in 2019 and was on Editor & Publisher’s 2024 “Editors Extraordinaire” list. [19]
In 2014, he was named a Chamberlin Fellow at the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University. [20]