About: Mother Jones magazine announced today that Russ Rymer has been named editor-in-chief of Mother Jones, effective February 7.

For Immediate Release:
January 13, 2005
Contact:
Richard Reynolds
415/321-1740
reynolds@motherjones.com

Russ Rymer Named Mother Jones' Editor-in-Chief

Mother Jones magazine announced today that Russ Rymer has been named editor-in-chief of Mother Jones, effective February 7.

A noted writer and editor, Rymer has held senior editing posts at seven national and regional magazines and has written for the New Yorker, New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, The Atlantic, Smithsonian, Mother Jones, and many other magazines. His first book Genie: A Scientific Tragedy was a finalist for the National Book Critics’ Circle Award and was turned into a PBS documentary. His second book American Beach: A Saga of Race, Wealth, and Memory was named a New York Times Notable Book and was a finalist for a Los Angeles Times Book Award.

Rymer is currently the top editor at Portland Monthly, which in only two years has become the seventh-largest city magazine in the country in newsstand sales and the top-ranked city magazine in the country in sales per-capita. An issue of Hippocrates magazine (now Health) that he conceived and edited won a 1989 National Magazine Award for Best Single Topic Issue. In 2002, he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for a project related to the fate of craftsmanship in the era of globalization.

"These political times demand that Mother Jones be at its most energetic and muscular," says Jay Harris, Mother Jones' president and publisher. "Russ and the editors will produce a magazine that leaves no doubt about the power of progressive ideas. He will treat our readers to powerful writing and to great reporting that searches out truth and brings back scalps."

Rymer says he wants to lead a magazine "that makes clear why progressive ideas are right for the nation's future. At a time when our own government is recklessly endangering our national security and economic stability, and neglecting our social welfare, Mother Jones' voice is needed more than ever. I’m excited to be here."

With a circulation of 240,000, Mother Jones is the largest-circulation progressive publication in the country. The magazine’s circulation has been on a steady upward track for the past six years, growing from 130,000 in 1998.

Mother Jones won a National Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2001, its fourth NMA, and was a finalist in General Excellence again in 2003.