In summary
John D’Anna was most recently managing editor at The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa.
John D’Anna joins CalMatters as managing editor during the news organization’s 10th anniversary year.
He was most recently managing editor at The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, directing nationally award-winning projects on wildfire recovery, death with dignity, clean energy and government corruption.
D’Anna succeeds Vicki Haddock, who joined CalMatters in its second year, 2016, and was CalMatters’ first managing editor. Haddock stepped down to spend more time with family, but she will continue to guide CalMatters in an advisory role.
D’Anna will direct CalMatters’ award-winning team of journalists, running day-to-day operations while working directly with five assignment editors and other leaders across CalMatters.
“John has an impressive track record as a newsroom leader and journalist, but even more striking is his demonstrated commitment to serve the community with powerful storytelling,” said CalMatters Editor-in-Chief Kristen Go.
D’Anna previously worked at the Arizona Republic. As page one editor, D’Anna ran the publication’s front page and he oversaw the print presentation of their Pulitzer Prize-winning border wall series. He was also a key member of two Pulitzer finalist teams: covering the shooting of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 18 others in Tucson, and the Yarnell Hill Fire which killed 19 wildland firefighters.
As a senior reporter across a variety of beats, D’Anna solved the 87-year-old mystery of Arizona’s Hatbox Baby, exposed racism in Arizona’s historic territorial capital and won a national APSE investigative reporting award for exposing the selective prosecution of an African-American youth in a high school football hazing scandal.
He was founding editor of the Republic’s first community newspaper, the Scottsdale Republic, and directed nationally award-winning investigative journalism stemming from the publication.
In 2016, D’Anna fought a subpoena of his notes in a press-freedom case that went to the Arizona Supreme Court and resulted in significant legal protections for Arizona journalists.
D’Anna taught at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism for 16 years, including a graduate seminar on the future of journalism and guest lectures on First Amendment and public records issues.
He has an MBA from Benedictine University Mesa, and a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a minor in political science from the University of Arizona. D’Anna is also a fifth-degree black belt and three-time world champion in taekwondo.