New managing editor named to lead el Nuevo Herald

El Nuevo Herald will have a new managing editor who will help “reimagine” and expand the audience of one of the main Spanish newspapers in the United States, the executive editor of el Nuevo and the Miami Herald, Aminda Marqués González, announced on Wednesday.

Jay Ducassi, the Miami Herald’s metro editor and editor of the bilingual team covering Latin America and the Caribbean, was officially appointed as managing editor of el Nuevo Herald. Ducassi had held the position on an interim basis since the departure of Nancy San Martin in late September.

“Throughout his career, Jay has demonstrated a keen eye for identifying talent, excellence as an editor and an unflappable grace when running breaking news,” Marqués said in an email sent to the newsrooms of both newspapers.

“Jay is the right leader to help reimagine one of the premier Spanish language news brands in America and harness the talented team of ENH journalists to reach an ever-growing audience in an increasingly diverse Hispanic/Latino market,” she added.

Ducassi began his career in 1981 working for the predecessor of el Nuevo Herald, a Miami Herald publication in Spanish called El Herald. At the Miami Herald, Ducassi worked as a reporter and editor and has been the metro editor since 2010. As political editor, he led the team that covered the controversial 2000 election and the 2016 presidential election.

For several years in the 1990s, Ducassi worked as a front-page editor at the Wall Street Journal.

“As someone who got his start in journalism as a reporter in the original El Herald many years ago, I look forward to returning to my roots,” he said. “It’s an exciting opportunity for me, and I look forward to helping the talented staff of el Nuevo Herald achieve new heights in our profession.”

In his new role, he will lead a group tasked with outlining the newspaper’s strategy to expand coverage of the diverse Hispanic communities in South Florida.

Follow Nora Gámez Torres on Twitter: @ngameztorres