The GA Voice announced today that Dyana Bagby is now editor of the newspaper. She takes over the position immediately.
Bagby has been with the GA Voice since it was founded in 2009 as deputy editor and also was news editor of the Southern Voice under the leadership of Laura Douglas-Brown.
“I’m very excited about this new opportunity,” Bagby said. “I see the GA Voice as a community resource and I look forward to ensuring all voices of all our diverse communities are heard.”
Bagby is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years experience in print and online media. She started in the newspaper business fresh out of college by working in the mailroom of the Herald-Citizen in Cookeville, Tenn., stuffing newspapers with ads and worked her way up by reporting on everything from county fair board meetings to death penalty trials.
“Dyana is one of the most dedicated, diligent journalists I have known and I’m thrilled she accepted our offer to be editor,” said Douglas-Brown, who founded GA Voice in March 2010 with Chris Cash and served as editor until September. “Her passion for our community and commitment to news reporting will serve the paper well. GA Voice would not be the resource it is today without her, and I am excited to see how it will prosper under her leadership in the future.”
GA Voice launched in March 2010 to fill the void left after Southern Voice, the city’s LGBT newspaper of more than 20 years, shut down when its parent company filed for bankruptcy. Cash, who founded Southern Voice before selling it in 1997, co-founded GA Voice with Douglas-Brown, who was editor of Southern Voice when it closed. Bagby also made the leap to GA Voice and was an integral part of the new media outlet’s conception and success.
Bagby’s writing for GA Voice has been honored by the National Newspaper Association and the Atlanta Press Club. In the National Newspaper Association’s 2011 Better Newspaper Contest, she won second place for Best Sports Feature Story or Series (Non-daily Division); in the 2010 contest, she won second place for Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series (Non-daily Division, circulation 6,000 – 9,999). Also in 2010, she won second place for news (small print circulation) in the Atlanta Press Club’s Awards of Excellence and was named one of the top 10 Atlanta journalists on Twitter.
David Moore, who became GA Voice editor in September, is leaving the paper to focus on writing his second book.
“I’m excited to be back in the city I love, I look forward to wrapping up my next two books and freelancing for both local and national publications on a variety of topics,” he said.