Randy Essex

Mr. Essex has been a line editor and department head for 19 years. He is now leading coverage of the troubled Detroit auto industry and Michigan economy. His prior job was as assistant managing editor of the Des Moines Register, where his responsibilities included overseeing Iowa caucus coverage in 2000 and 2004. Through the stages from night city editor to team leader to department head and AME, he has developed systems for planning consistent enterprise, planning major event coverage in print and on the Web, and offers a template for what to do when you must drop everything when the huge story breaks – all while taking care of the contest entries, monthly reports and job evaluations we all learn to love so much.