EVERETT — The new executive editor at The Daily Herald didn’t get where he is by sitting behind a desk.
He’s a roll-up-your-sleeves kind of guy.
Phillip O’Connor, 58, has covered school boards, city councils, courthouses, the World Series, NBA finals, earthquakes, tornadoes and war.
O’Connor, a journalist for 34 years, replaces former Herald editor Neal Pattison, who retired from the newsroom in April.
“The Herald has such a great tradition and reputation. I’m excited to lead the team forward and uphold that excellence,” he said.
Most recently, O’Connor directed news, enterprise and investigative teams at Oklahoma’s largest daily newspaper, The Oklahoman.
He will lead the Herald’s drive for digital expansion and engagement.
“We’re going to continue to give our print subscribers a high-quality product but we also know that our future is in the digital realm,” he said. “It’s delivering the news they want, when they want it, where they want it, when they need it.”
O’Connor plans to begin a weekly video chat with reporters about stories and to increase the number of podcasts.
Expect more investigative reporting.
“I want us to be a public watchdog,” O’Connor said. “I also want us to talk to and tell the stories of the people of our community.”
Though the last names are identical, the two O’Connors at the helm of the Herald are not related.
“He’s a win for journalism in the Pacific Northwest and the leader we need to transform our business for the future,” said Josh O’Connor, Herald publisher and Sound Publishing president.
He said the new editor is regarded as a “reporting powerhouse” and “someone who can do the big stories and coach staff how to tackle this type of work.”
O’Connor the editor, a Kansas native, got his first newspaper job making $5 an hour as a Friday night sports clerk at The Kansas City Star in Missouri. He made $15 a week.
“I did so well that I was promoted to Saturday afternoons,” he said. Still at the princely sum of five bucks an hour, it netted six hours, so it doubled his salary. (He doesn’t include those two years in his 34 years of experience.)
After graduating from Kansas State University, Phillip O’Connor was hired full time at The Star. He moved up the ranks, covering almost every beat and bureaucracy over 15 years.
Meantime, he married his college sweetheart, Robin.
Her job opportunity in the convention industry took him to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as an enterprise and investigative reporter. His 12 years there included reporting from Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Bosnia, Israel and Haiti.
In his six years in Oklahoma, he shifted to newsroom management.
He and Robin have a daughter, Carson, 27, also a Kansas State graduate, who lives in Denver. The couple is making their new home in north Everett.
He remains a huge Kansas City Chiefs and Royals fan.
“I’ve moved around a lot, but my loyalties will never change,” he said. “Sorry, Seahawks fans and Mariners fans.”
Readers can reach him on various platforms, unless the Royals are playing.
“My door is open. I am on Twitter. Call me, write me, email me,” he said. “I live in the community. I expect to be part of the conversation. You don’t learn unless you listen and talk to people.”
Where else might you find him?
“I’m kind of a homebody,” he said. “You’ll probably see me working in my yard.”
Andrea Brown: abrown@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3443. Twitter @reporterbrown.
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