McClatchy

Blake Kaplan is a regional executive editor with the McClatchy Co. His home base is Biloxi, Mississippi, where he serves as editor and general manager of the Sun Herald newspaper. He also is the editor of two papers in Georgia, The Telegraph in Macon and the Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus. Kaplan has been a journalist for 30 years, including 21 years as an editor. One of his biggest career achievements is being part of a team that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for the Sun Herald's coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

Brian Tolley is the president and editor of three of the largest markets in South Carolina. The State is South Carolina's leading newspaper, based in the capital city of Columbia with reporters also in Charleston and Greenville. The Island Packet, named newspaper of the year five of the past seven years in Tier 2 of state press judging, is based in one of the most beautiful resort areas in the country, Hilton Head Island. And if that is not enough sand for you, The Sun News in Myrtle Beach is just a few hours up the coast, offering up a high quality life to go with its non-stop news cycle.

Hannah Wise is the Central Region Audience Growth Development Editor for McClatchy. Based in Kansas City, Mo., she leads the audience team working with The Kansas City Star, The Wichita Eagle and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She is most passionate about building communities in digital spaces and thinking about the future of sharing news. Hannah has previously worked as a social strategy editor at The New York Times and in various reporting and editing roles at The Dallas Morning News.

Rick Hirsch is senior editor for talent development with the McClatchy Company, overseeing recruiting for 30 newsrooms across the United States. Before taking on that role, he worked for 42 years at the Miami Herald as a reporter, editor and digital leader, including the last 12 as managing editor. During his time at the Herald, he's been part of multiple Pulizer Prizes. He is a past president of the Florida Society of News Editors, a member of the University of Florida College of Journalism Hall of Fame and the organizer of the South Florida chapter of ONA.

Steve Coffman is the president and editor of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has been in the newspaper business for 35 years, starting as a reporter at the Finger Lakes Times in western New York. He has served in a variety of editing roles at the Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer, the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun and the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle. He holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.