Dear Reader,
I have some good news to share: Andrew Leigh will be the next executive editor of Hudson River Blue.
He will officially take over the position on February 1. When he does, Andrew will become the fifth executive editor of HRB since this website was established in 2013.
To be honest, you won't notice much of a difference at HRB despite the change of titles. The editorial content of this publication has been a collaboration between Andrew and myself since 2022, and his elevation to executive editor reflects the work that he already does. The site will look, read, and feel the same, and I have no doubt that HRB will continue to evolve under Andrew's leadership.
As for me, I'm not going anywhere. I will become the publisher of HRB, a new position that will allow me to attend to the nuts and bolts it takes to run an independent publication like ours.
In the last year alone, we redesigned the HRB website, went ad-free (I do not miss those miserable pop-ups), published 635 posts, expanded our local coverage, and launched a podcast. We've been busy.
It was quieter when I took over as executive editor in November of 2021. To jar your memory, that was when the world was still recovering from the pandemic and New York City FC were slumping into the playoffs. Since then, New York City won a title, broke ground on a stadium, promoted one head coach, and hired another. As for HRB, we went from being an SBNation cog in the Vox Media machine to becoming a reader-supported publication that covers the diverse and expanding New York City soccer scene. These are interesting times.
I should clarify that I will continue to post articles and weigh in on roundtable discussions, and that my byline will continue to grace your screens. You won't get rid of me that easily.
In other words, HRB will be the same, only better.
Sincerely,
