David Griffin Joins Washington Post As Visuals Editor

 

© 2011 News Photographer magazine

WASHINGTON, DC (February 22, 2011) – National Geographic executive editor of e-Publishing David Griffin will be joining the staff of The Washington Post to fill the newly-created position of Visuals Editor beginning on March 21, 2011, Post assistant managing editor Michel du Cille told News Photographer magazine today.

"We've been working on this for some time," du Cille said. "We've wanted to have one editor who is in charge of all the visuals, the paper, the Web site, multimedia, a big editor with a big vision to run things visually overall, someone who will bring continuity and power to visuals and will be able to make the big sweeping decisions. It's something we haven't been able to do in the 23 years that I've been here, and it's something I'm extremely happy about."

"I'm very excited about the fact that the Post offered me this incredible opportunity to lead such an amazing team," Griffin told News Photographer magazine today. "I was blown away that I was selected. The fact that the Post is bringing all of their visual editorial operation to this point means they've already made all the tough decisions necessary to bring print, mobile, Web, all together in one group, and it's an opportunity to figure out how to express this across multiple platforms in a visual way. It's a significant challenge."

Griffin has no qualms about being put in a position that will be a big undertaking. "All publications face a very tough future, as we know, and there's no question that the days of seeing print look one way, mobile in one way, and the Web in another are gone. We've got to bring them all together in a way that expresses the brand smartly in each one, bringing out the best of each but in a way that they fell like they're all of 'one cloth.'"

Griffin said he's loved what he's been able to accomplish at National Geographic, but this opportunity at the Post is unique. "The chance to lead such an amazing team, and to know that they are sincerely interested in having committed visual representation, I've very excited by this," he said today.

Bringing Griffin to the Post was a recruiting effort that du Cille was involved with from the start. "We've been working on this for several months," he said, "and it's great that the visuals at the Post are going to be enhanced by someone we know and trust."

The photography department will still be run by du Cille, he said, as Griffin's role will encompass all visual and presentation teams, including design, graphics, and the video journalists across all platforms. Griffin will be leading a team of about 90 visual journalists. A Post announcement to staff today said that Janet Michaud will continue to lead news/features design, Justin Farrell will lead digital design, Hannah Fairfield will lead graphics, and Steven King will lead video. The Digital Design team will continue to work closely with Emilio Garcia-Ruiz on strategic digital projects, the memo said.

At National Geographic, Griffin directed the editorial efforts of extending their print publications into mobile formats. Prior to this, he was director of photography of National Geographic magazine where he oversaw their renowned team of contributing photographers.

Griffin started his career as a photographer, moving to editing and design, eventually taking on greater directing and management responsibilities. Along the way, he was deputy director of photography of The Everett (WA) Herald, art director of The Hartford Courant, art director of the Philadelphia Inquirer's Sunday magazine, assistant director of design of National Geographic magazine, design director of NG Books and creative director of U.S. News & World Report. He has a degree in visual communication from Ohio University and is an alumni of the Stanford Professional Publishing program.

 

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