Springfield News-Sun names new editor

Ismail Turay Jr., a news veteran of two decades, is returning to the Springfield News-Sun as its editor.

“The News-Sun has been a part of this community for decades,” Turay said. “The people have stuck with us. There’s a great foundation here, and my team and I will continue carrying on the tradition of providing the residents with great journalism and a newspaper they can continue to be proud of.”

Turay has a diverse history with Cox Enterprises, the News-Sun’s parent company, first interning at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in 1999. He later interned at the Cox Newspapers Washington Bureau after graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Turay then joined the News-Sun as a crime reporter, a role he held for three years. After working in Dayton as a regional reporter for five years, Turay returned to the News-Sun, first as its assistant city editor, later becoming the city editor.

After returning from his deployment to Afghanistan with the Ohio Army National Guard in 2012, Turay returned to the Dayton newsroom. There, he held a number of positions, including as shift manager of the 24-hour breaking news team, beginning in 2014.

Most recently, Turay was an investigative reporter for The Path Forward news team, which aims to dive into local issues with lasting impact. Here Turay focused on water quality, but also covered higher education, race and ethnicity, and the coronavirus pandemic.

“We feel great that Ismail Turay is going to lead our News-Sun staff,” said Jim Bebbington, editor-in-chief of the Cox First newspapers. “He is an experienced journalist who knows Clark and Champaign counties well. Our readers are going to continue to see great work from our team in the News-Sun.”

Turay succeeds former News-Sun editor Sharon Wilmore, who has been a manager guiding community reporters and crime coverage for the Dayton Daily News since 2014. She joined Cox on the copy desk in 2010 after 12 years as an editor for the Detroit Free Press on lifestyle and community coverage. Wilmore is now serving as the managing editor of Lifestyle and Dayton.com.

Turay wishes to engage with the community. He can be reached at ismail.turay@coxinc.com for questions, comments and news tips.

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