George Stanley, editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and regional editor of USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin, announced Tuesday he will retire at the end of the year after more than 43 years in journalism, the newspaper reports.
Stanley was named editor of the Journal Sentinel in 2015 after leading the newsroom as managing editor for 18 years. He succeeded Marty Kaiser.
Stanley was born in Laredo, Texas, where his father flew fighter jets in the U.S. Air Force, reports Corrinne Hess of the Journal Sentinel. After his time in the service, his father’s work in the paper industry brought the family to Green Bay.
Stanley’s interest in journalism was sparked after winning an Associated Press sports writing contest at Abbot Pennings High School in De Pere. He went on to study journalism at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and began his career at the Lake Geneva Regional News, Ducks Unlimited magazine and the Wichita (Kansas) Eagle.
In 1989, Stanley returned to Wisconsin as a state reporter for the Milwaukee Sentinel. He became the business editor of the Sentinel in 1993 and took over the same position when the Sentinel and Milwaukee Journal merged in 1995. He became managing editor of the Journal Sentinel two years later.
During his tenure, Stanley has become known as a strong, forceful leader who cares deeply about the role of journalism in democracy, as well as developing young journalists. Under his leadership as managing editor and editor, the Journal Sentinel has won virtually every major prize in journalism, including three Pulitzer Prizes.
During his announcement to staff on Tuesday, Stanley said he made his decision after the Journal Sentinel’s parent company, Gannett, announced last month it would make additional cuts company-wide, Hess reports.
Stanley has served on the WNA Board of Directors since 2017, and is a frequent speaker at the WNA’s annual convention. He also is the immediate past president of the News Leaders Association.
Stanley and his wife, Pam, have five children, one of whom continues in journalism. Greg Stanley is an environmental reporter at the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune.
