Wilcox comes to ASNE from the National Association of Counties, where he was a senior writer for the organization’s bi-weekly tabloid County News. Wilcox covered Capitol Hill and Supreme Court developments that affected county government.

“This is an exciting and challenging time for newspapers and I’m happy to be a part of it,” said Wilcox, who will be responsible for The American Editor, ASNE’s magazine that focuses on issues faced by the nation’s top newspaper editors.

Wilcox’s journalism career started in 1987, when he was editor of The Daily Athenaeum at West Virginia University. After graduation he moved to The Dominion Post, a daily in Morgantown, W.Va., where he was a bureau reporter and a copy editor.

After a two-year stint as a writer/editor at a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency clearinghouse, Wilcox returned to West Virginia University for a master’s degree in journalism, where he focused on news-editorial.

Wilcox succeeds Craig Branson, who became ASNE’s online director in June.

Williams comes to ASNE from the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal, where she served in a variety of editorial positions before becoming the manager of recruiting and development.

Williams has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from The University of Maryland.

“Having spent 16 years in newspapers as a reporter, editor and in recruitment, I am very familiar with ASNE and the critical role it plays in maintaining the highest standards of quality and preserving core journalistic values,” Williams said. “I’m excited about this opportunity.”

Williams will oversee several key ASNE projects, including the ASNE Institute for Journalism Excellence and the Freedom Forum/ASNE International Journalism Exchange.

The ASNE Institute for Journalism Excellence builds stronger ties between newsrooms and college journalism programs through placement of college journalism professors in newsrooms for work experience. Funded by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, a highlight of the program is a six-week job at a daily newspaper.

Freedom Forum/ASNE International Journalism Exchange, which was founded by ASNE in 1984 and funded by The Freedom Forum since 1994. The program brings senior-level editors to the U.S. from countries where press freedoms are threatened for five weeks of newsroom management training, including a month at a daily newspaper. Nine editors from abroad were selected from 247 applicants for the 2000 program.

Williams will also play a key role in the Journalism Credibility Project, now in its fourth year with funding from the Robert R. McCormick Tribune Foundation. Williams succeeds Diana Mitsu Klos, who was promoted to senior project director in May.

With more than 900 members, ASNE is the principal organization of daily newspaper editors throughout the Americas. It is active in a number of areas, concentrating on improving the diversity, readership and credibility of newspapers.