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San Francisco Chronicle names its first female editor in chief

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The San Francisco Chronicle’s managing editor, Audrey Cooper, was named editor in chief Tuesday, becoming the first woman to hold the top post in the paper’s 150-year history.

Cooper, 37, joined the newspaper in 2006 as an assistant metro editor before rising to metro editor in 2009 and managing editor in 2013.

“I’m honored to lead the newsroom of the San Francisco Chronicle,” Cooper said in a statement. “We have a 150-year legacy of game-changing journalism that guides the conversation about the world’s most fascinating region.”

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Cooper’s plans for the newspaper include hiring more investigative reporters and developing new modes of print and online storytelling.

Under her term as managing editor, the paper was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature photography for “Even Odds,” a series about the struggles of black male students in Oakland.

The paper also recently put out a multimedia series on gentrification in San Francisco’s Mission District.

“Audrey’s news leadership at the Chronicle is emblematic of the future of all of our newspapers and websites: employ innovative storytelling to connect readers with the news and information that matters most to them,” Mark Aldam, president of Hearst Newspapers, said in a statement.

Cooper previously worked at the Tri-Valley Herald in the Bay Area, the Associated Press and the Record in Stockton, where she served as metro editor.

Twitter: @jpanzar

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