Aki Soga has become the first Asian American journalist to lead the Burlington Free Press.
He was named executive editor of the Gannett-owned daily “following an extensive search,” the Free Press reported Saturday. Formerly a reporter in Tokyo, Soga, 63, came to the Free Press in 1991 and was most recently the engagement editor.
Due to his work in that position, Gannett regional editor Lisa Strattan was quoted as saying, Soga “is in the best position to remind greater Burlington, and all of Vermont, of the standing of the Free Press.”
Once boasting the largest newsroom and highest circulation of any paper in the state, the Free Press has steadily lost staff and readership in recent years. Gannett, which has owned the paper since 1971, merged with GateHouse in 2019. The newsroom directory currently lists 13 people, including interns.
Soga, a South Burlington resident, had been one of just two editors working with Free Press reporters since former executive editor Emilie Stigliani left in March for the Sacramento Bee in California.
Soga said he will work to fill his former position as soon as he can write and post the job description. He will report to Strattan, who was unavailable for comment.
Asked about the significance of becoming the paper’s first Asian American executive director, Soga said, “People seeing someone like me as editor of a Vermont newsroom hopefully opens the way to a broader perspective of what our community looks like.”
“Vermont — especially the Burlington area — is becoming more and more diverse in terms of race and ethnicity,” Soga observed. “It’s important that major institutions in the community reflect this diversity from top to bottom.”
Mike Donoghue, a veteran Vermont journalist who worked with Soga at the Free Press for more than two decades, said his former colleague is well-equipped for the role.
“He has worn several hats in the newsroom and has done a lot of outstanding work,” Donoghue said. “Aki has been a firm believer in the public’s right to know, both with open meetings, public records and government transparency.”
In his years at the Free Press, Soga has worked in news, features and opinions. In 2012, he was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his editorials on open government.
April McCullum, digital innovation editor at the Free Press, wrote in an email that, “Aki has tremendous historical knowledge of Vermont and is the go-to person in the newsroom for understanding the context of an issue or debate.”
In January, the paper cut print publication to six days a week to avoid further cuts. Last year, it moved its Burlington office to a Williston office park. The paper has been printed out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, since May 2020.
Daily newspapers nationwide have for years grappled with declining advertising and circulation revenues, as well as increased printing and distribution costs — problems exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gannett executives declined to comment on circulation and salary queries but emailed a statement on the new appointment. Hollis Towns, vice president of Local News Initiatives at Gannett, said Soga’s “deep commitment to representation of diverse voices and local interests will usher the Free Press into the future.”
Soga said he believes that the Free Press print publication of 20 years ago is not what the community wants today. “Our challenge is to keep producing stories that are relevant to people’s lives that they’re gonna want to read,” he said.
The new executive editor noted that he grew up at a time when he “rarely saw an accurate or significant portrayal of Asian Americans on TV, in the movies or even textbooks. That kind of narrow representation of our world is a loss for all of us.”
“I can’t escape the fact that I’m a person of color in one of the least racially diverse states in the country, and an immigrant in a place where people take great pride in being a native Vermonter,” Soga continued. “I’m often reminded that I’m different — in small ways and usually with no malicious intent.”
“These experiences hopefully make me more aware of different perspectives, the possibility that people may see the situation or world from a different angle, which is key to being both a journalist and a newsroom leader.”
