Hollis R. Towns has decided to pursue other opportunities after 11 months as vice president of content and editor in chief of Alabama Media Group.
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By Barnett Wright
The Birmingham Times
After 11 months on the job, Hollis R. Towns on Tuesday announced his resignation as vice president of content and editor in chief of Alabama Media Group effective March 28.
In an email to staff obtained by The Birmingham Times, Towns wrote in part, “I’m leaving as editor and will be pursuing other opportunities. I will take time off but will be around through the end of the month.”
Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Towns did not elaborate beyond what he wrote in his email but said, “it wasn’t the right fit. I had a fantastic team that does exceptional journalism but … it was time to pursue other opportunities.”
The resignation comes at a time when many of his initiatives were beginning to take hold. In November, Towns announced two high level promotions in the newsroom, Ben Flanagan as director of content for AL.com, overseeing breaking news, features and sports and Ruth Serven Smith as senior managing producer, leading a team to cover the Birmingham metro, the Beyond the Violence initiative, which was expected to launched this week (with The Birmingham Times as a partner).
A native of Fort Valley, Georgia, Towns came to AMG from Gannett, where he oversaw 160 daily newspapers and news websites across the country as Gannett’s vice president for local news and regional editor.
Under his leadership, newsroom teams won multiple Emmy awards for investigative journalism, were Pulitzer Prize finalists for public service in 2010 and were honored with the National Association of Black Journalists’ Public Service Award in 2018.
After announcing his hiring in February 2024, AMG President Natalie Pruitt said, “It’s a testament to our journalists and our work that we were able to attract someone with the talent and experience Hollis brings.”
He replaced Kelly Ann Scott, who left in October 2023 to become editor in chief of the Houston Chronicle. Towns’ hiring led to the departure of at least two newsroom leaders who had applied for the job, according to sources who asked not to be named for fear of retribution.
Towns’ first day at AMG was March 25, 2024. He leaves almost exactly to the day he took leadership of the staff.
