Chicago Tribune Media Group announced today that Elizabeth Fenner has been named editor-in-chief of Chicago magazine. Her appointment is effective September 19, 2011. Fenner succeeds Richard Babcock, who retired in April after 20 years in the position. She will report to Richard Gamble, publisher and general manager of Chicago and Chicago Home + Garden.
“Beth is an energetic, highly respected editor whose terrific experience in both print and digital will be key in taking the brand to the next level,” Gamble said.
This is a homecoming for Fenner, who grew up in the Chicago area but has spent most of her career at Time Inc. in New York City. Since 2008 she has been assistant managing editor at Money, where she managed some of the brand’s most important cover franchises and helped create an award-winning retirement channel on CNNMoney.com. From 2005 to 2007 she was the executive editor of Women’s Health, one of the most successful magazine launches of the past decade.
“I’m thrilled to be returning to Chicago to lead the editorial team,” Fenner said. “I look forward to helping make Chicago more indispensable to readers than ever.”
Prior to Women’s Health, Fenner was an assistant managing editor at Fortune and a senior editor at People, where she edited fashion and food stories, among others. In 2011, she won the Best Home & Design Feature Award from the National Association of Real Estate Editors. She has acted as a judge for the National Magazine Awards and for the Gerald Loeb Awards for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism. Frequent TV appearances include such shows as Today, The CBS Early Show, Dateline NBC, and Entertainment Tonight. Fenner holds a B.A. in classics from the University of Notre Dame.
Chicago, which launched in 1970 and has been owned by Tribune since 2002, is the nation’s largest-circulation city monthly. Together with its website, Chicagomag.com, it delivers an award-winning combination of smart service journalism and provocative narrative stories capturing the lifestyle and spirit of the area helping readers get the most out of living and working in Chicagoland.
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About Chicago Tribune Media Group
Chicago Tribune Media Group is a media and business services company that publishes the Pulitzer Prize-winning Chicago Tribune. CTMG also produces related print and interactive media serving Chicagoland like RedEye, Hoy, Chicago magazine, TribLocal, The Mash, chicagotribune.com, chicagonow.com, and metromix.com. Reaching 4.8 million adults each week in the greater Chicago area, CTMG is the leading news and information destination in Chicagoland.