Wallace, 59, will transition from her role as market vice president on July 1 to work directly with CMG Executive Vice President Mike Joseph on broader CMG newspaper strategy for the rest of the year. She will also teach a political journalism class at the University of Dayton, she said.
Joseph said the search for Wallace’s successor will begin immediately. In the interim, Rob Rohr, CMG Ohio’s general manager, will oversee the operation and report to Joseph.
“Julia has had a remarkable career, leading the Atlanta Journal-Constitution as its editor for a decade and then spearheading the CMG Ohio convergence effort in Dayton – bringing TV, radio and newspapers together as a successful and innovative media business,” Joseph said. “During her 5½ years in Dayton, Julia has been a driving force in growing CMG Ohio into a financially successful multi-media organization. She is creative, energetic, future-focused and willing to take risks.”
Cox Media Group Ohio includes WHIO-TV, the Dayton Daily News, WHKO Radio (K99.1 FM), WHIO Radio (News 95.7/AM 1290), WZLR (The Eagle), the Springfield News-Sun, the Journal-News, Dayton.com and other affiliated websites and apps.
During Wallace’s tenure in Dayton, she renewed the focus on investigative reporting, especially at the Dayton Daily News, and saw WHIO-TV ratings grow, Joseph said. WHIO-TV is the No. 1 CBS affiliate in the country with 76 percent of news viewers in the Dayton DMA watching.
Under her leadership, CMGO’s digital visits grew by more than 70 percent; the company launched a MeTV channel which quickly became the No. 1 MeTV affiliate in the country; and K99 has consistently ranked as the No. 1 radio station in the market. The Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music honored K99 this year as a finalist for station of the year.
“This organization is filled with talented and hard-working folks,” Wallace said. “Through all of the change, they have dug in and found solutions to problems that perplexed so many. I know they will continue to carry on to do great work.”
Wallace also worked to improve the Dayton community, Joseph said. She helped raise $4 million for the River Run development project and serves on the Dayton Development Coalition board. She also serves on the local and national Alzheimer’s Association boards and the Ohio Association of Broadcasters.
Wallace joined Cox in 2000 as managing editor of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. In 2002, she became editor of the AJC. She was named editor of the year by Editor & Publisher magazine in 2004. In 2006, she was inducted into the Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement and received the Alumni Merit Award from Northwestern University. She has held leadership roles at USA Today, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Arizona Republic.
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