Rachel Lobdell

I am a digital media leader who has made an impact in both legacy and startup newsrooms. I am passionate about managing teams, developing and refining content strategies, and growing audiences.

In my current role at Fortune Media, I oversee everything from major editorial projects and investigative features to daily story selection, calendars, and budgets. I relish the opportunity to influence our journalism by being hands-on in the story creation process and also taking the 30,000-feet view to strategize about where we’re going and how we’re going to get there. I’m at my best when I’m using all the parts of my brain: dreaming up big stories to chase, experimenting with new ways to produce them, bringing order to chaos with spreadsheets and memos, and collaborating across the newsroom.

I have previously worked as the managing editor at VICE, a strategist at the Wall Street Journal, and at Fusion, the Sun Sentinel, the Los Angeles Times, and the Huntsville Times.

I frequently speak and write on the state of digital journalism, leadership, and newsroom culture. I was a member of the 2016 ONA-Poynter Leadership Academy for Women in Digital Media class.

Along with two friends, I produce a successful newsletter that aims to address the dearth of training available to journalists, and I am dedicated to making journalism a more equitable industry. I speak at national and international conferences, conduct live interviews at events, and I have been an adjunct professor teaching coding for journalism students.

I block out time on Fridays to chat with women and people of color in journalism.

I read a lot of books.

Get in touch at rachel.b.lobdell@gmail.com or on Twitter. I'm always open to talking about consulting, speaking, writing, or leading trainings.

Photo by Elizabeth Renstrom