History

Launched in September 2018, The Daily Memphian is the must-read, primary daily online publication for intelligent, in-depth journalism in the Memphis community. The Daily Memphian reports on critical news, holds political, business and community leaders accountable, and engages with and entertains its readers – all while seeking truth, acting with integrity, and never fearing stories simply because of their negative or positive attributes. Led by a seasoned team of veteran journalists, The Daily Memphian is of Memphis, not just in Memphis, and seeks to tell the stories of this city.

Leadership

Eric Barnes, CEO. Eric is the longtime publisher of The Daily News and host of Behind the Headlines on WKNO. He’s a former President of the Tennessee Press Association, was once COO of Towery Publishing in Memphis, and has worked as a reporter, editor and in other positions at media companies in New York and Connecticut. 

Ronnie Ramos, Executive Editor. Ronnie was formerly the executive editor at the Indianapolis Star. During his more than 30 years in journalism, he has held senior leadership positions at the Miami Herald, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Fort Myers News-Press, Shreveport (La.) Times and the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). He was part of the team at the Miami Herald that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service for its coverage of Hurricane Andrew. 

Wendy Greenlaw, Director of Audience Development. Wendy has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience, most recently with Chandler Reports, where she spent 11 years managing all aspects of customer engagement, retention, and subscription sales.

Jason Israel, Chief Technology Officer. Jason is a native Memphian who has led several Memphis based SAAS companies as a start-up CTO and software engineer for over 20 years, including Verified Person Inc., Extracon Science LLC, Rapsheets.com and The Daily News. 

Justin Rushing, Advertising Director. Justin leads advertising and sponsorships for The Daily Memphian. He has has more than 20 years of media experience, having worked at The Memphis Flyer, The Commercial Appeal, ESPN and Cars.com

James Overstreet, Editor. James was formerly the Executive Editor of The Daily News, as well as Business Editor at The Commercial Appeal, Managing Editor of The Memphis Business Journal, and a reporter at numerous publications in the Southeast.

Kathy Kendrick, Business Manager. Kathy was for two decades the Business Manager of The Memphis Business Journal.

Mary Cashiola, Digital Director. Mary Cashiola writes The Daily Memphian’s Early Word morning email and leads digital efforts for the publication. A veteran journalist, she has reported on education, business, local government and the environment for the Memphis Business Journal, The Memphis Flyer and other publications. She’s also worked for the City of Memphis and as an ad agency copywriter. 

Kevin Lipe, Director of Product Strategy. Kevin guides the development of our content platform, manages our analytics and paywall systems, and works across teams to make sure our tech stack supports our business and audience goals. He’s worked for web agencies, alternative newspapers, covered the Memphis Grizzlies, and set up guitars at the Gibson factory.

Advisory 

Otis Sanford, Columnist & Editor-at-Large. Otis holds the Chair of Excellence in the Department of Journalism & Strategic Media at The University of Memphis. Otis is the former Managing Editor at The Commercial Appeal, Deputy City Editor at Detroit Free Press and Assistant City Editor at The Pittsburgh Press. He worked as a reporter at The Clarion-Ledger and The Commercial Appeal.