Greg Macafee, Tribune Chronicle / Vindicator editor

After more than nine years as editor of the Tribune Chronicle and more than four years as editor of The Vindicator, Brenda J. Linert is leaving the newsroom and handing the helm to Greg Macafee.

Macafee is being promoted from his position as metro editor, which began in September when he replaced the retiring Tom Wills.

“I’m very pleased that Greg has accepted the challenge of leading our newsroom. He has worked very hard to earn this opportunity, and I’m excited to have him as our editor overseeing all newsroom operations,” Ted Snyder, general manager, said.

Macafee, who hails from western New York, holds a bachelor’s degree in communications with a focus in journalism from Slippery Rock University. He also earned a master’s degree in sports journalism at Arizona State University.

His journalism career has taken him from the Verde Valley in Arizona to the Tribune-Review in Pittsburgh, where he worked as a sports writer. He also served as sports editor for Tribune Publications in Tempe, Arizona, along with spending a portion of his career at the Beaver County Times in Beaver Falls, Pa.

He was hired as sports editor at The Vindicator in 2021, where he supervised the sports staff and wrote and photographed games.

Macafee lives in Boardman with his wife, Lauren, and their two dogs.

“During my first three years at the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to learn from a few great journalists, and I feel as though it has prepared me to carry on the legacy of these two historical newspapers,” Macafee said. “I’m extremely excited about what the future holds. We have a great staff that is constantly evolving, learning and delivering the best product for our readership. I plan to continue these efforts into the future.”

Linert, who will become director of Government Affairs and Community Impact for the Youngstown / Warren Regional Chamber, was named editor of the Tribune Chronicle in October 2014. She was a journalist for the Tribune for nearly 30 years, serving as business editor just prior to being named to the top post. Prior to her taking that post in 2012, she was metro editor, directing a reporting staff to produce the daily newspaper and its website, tribtoday.com.

She joined the newsroom as a full-time reporter in 1995 after having worked as a part-time reporter and stringer.

“I have loved working at the Tribune Chronicle and The Vindicator every day, and I still believe it is a critically important and noble profession,” Linert said. “But after nearly 30 years here, I believe it is time that I move on to work in other ways to help improve our Mahoning Valley.”

“Brenda has done a great job leading our newsroom. She was instrumental in reorganizing our news operation to produce two award-winning newspapers each day after the acquisition of The Vindicator in 2019. I wish her nothing but success in the next chapter of her career,” Snyder said.