The editor-in-chief of the English-language Forward newspaper is stepping down.
J.J. Goldberg will play a scaled-back role at the weekly publication, the New York-based newspaper announced Wednesday.
Goldberg, who has been the editor for 7 1/2 years, is assuming the newly created position of editorial director. He will take a step back from the daily running of the Forward to pursue other writing opportunities, according to the newspaper. Goldberg will continue to write the editorials and oversee the newspaper’s overall editorial content as the Forward Association, which owns the newspaper, searches for his replacement.
In the announcement, he was quoted as saying: “I’m grateful that the Forward Association is making it possible for me to rearrange my role here, even while I pursue my other projects.”
Goldberg told the JTA that the decision was the result of a long discussion between him and Samuel Norich, the executive director of the Forward Association and the publisher of the newspaper.
“I’m very excited about the new opportunity,” Goldberg said.
A product of the Labor Zionist movement, Goldberg took over for Seth Lipsky, the neoconservative veteran of The Wall Street Journal. Lipsky, who in 1990 became the founding editor of the English-language edition of the 110-year-old Yiddish newspaper, reportedly was ousted by the Forward Association in part because his political views clashed with the organization’s left-wing bent.
Norich told JTA that the goal was to find a new editor in the coming months. Once a new editor is hired, Norich said, Goldberg will continue to play a role in writing editorials and columns, but the new person will be charged with charting the overall direction of the newspaper.
“We are looking for someone who can continue what this paper has managed to do in recent years – to give the most insightful report on the current issues facing Jews in America of any Jewish publication,” Norich said. “And that is not just on political matters but also cultural matters.”
In the announcement, Norich said that Goldberg “has given the Forward a voice that is admired and respected inside and outside the Jewish world.”
In addition to a new editor, the Forward is also searching for a new home. Last March, the Forward Association sold its building in Manhattan on 34th Street and Park Avenue.
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