Rana L. Cash, executive editor of the Savannah Morning News and Georgia director for the USA Today Network, announced on Wednesday that she would be stepping down from her position to take the same one at the Charlotte Observer.
Cash joined the Morning News in June 2020 after serving as the sports editor at the Louisville Courier-Journal. Before coming to Savannah, she previously worked in Georgia as a sportswriter and editor for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution from 2003 to 2010. She is a Florida native and a 1992 graduate of Florida A&M University.
She is the first African American to lead the Savannah newsroom in the publication's 170-year history. The Savannah Morning News has had African Americans in other editor roles in recent decades but never as the newsroom leader.
"Leading the Georgia newsrooms, and being rooted in Savannah, has been an opportunity of a lifetime," Cash said. "We've connected with our communities in ways that we had not done before, our journalism has been elevated and the support of our digital products has been phenomenal. I know that we have a solid foundation upon which we can build and provide the quality, solutions-oriented journalism that our newsrooms deserve."
Since joining the Morning News, Cash has led initiatives focusing on covering communities of color, emphasized digital approaches and developed livestreamed events that provided information to the public amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Rana has been a remarkable leader for the Savannah newsroom and our other Gannett newspapers in Georgia," said Pam Sander, Southeast director for the USA Today Network.
"She has led our efforts to greatly improve how we cover our communities. Though she will be with us until mid-September, we will name an interim editor before then to ensure a smooth transition."
Cash's last day at the Morning News will be Sept. 17.
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Morning News Executive Editor Rana Cash hired to lead Charlotte Observer
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