Andrew Potter named editor-in-chief of Ottawa Citizen

By Tamara Baluja and Melanie Coulson

Managing editor Andrew Potter has been named the editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen, filling the role that has been vacant since former editor-in-chief Gerry Nott’s departure in September.

By Tamara Baluja and Melanie Coulson

Managing editor Andrew Potter has been named the editor-in-chief of the Ottawa Citizen, filling the role that has been vacant since former editor-in-chief Gerry Nott’s departure in September.

Nott left for Toronto in September to become the senior vice-president of the eastern region for Postmedia Network, the Citizen’s parent company. His promotion was part of a larger company-wide strategy to eliminate the role of publishers at its 10 newspapers and replace them with regional managers.  

 “Andrew is the right guy at the right time for the Citizen, its journalism and place on the media landscape in Canada,” Nott told J-Source. “His intuition for the great political story unmatched, his touch of irreverence most welcome and his outstanding leadership will take the Citizen to the place it needs to go in the years ahead.” 

According to his bio on the Citizen website, Potter was a professor of philosophy at Trent University in Peterborough and wrote a public affairs column for Maclean's. He is also the author of The Authenticity Hoax: How We Get Lost Finding Ourselves and the co-author of the best-selling book The Rebel Sell: Why the Culture Can't be Jammed.

"Andrew's incisive intellect, strategic thinking and natural leadership make him an ideal editor," said Lucinda Chodan, vice-president of editorial for the eastern region of Postmedia. "He has also played a key role in the important and award-winning journalism on national affairs that the Citizen has produced recently, which is a huge plus for both the Citizen and the rest of Canada."

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