Post Names Editor To Lead City Coverage

MARCIA SLACUM GREENE (Erica E. Lusk - Twp)

Marcia Slacum Greene, a reporter and editor at The Washington Post for 22 years, has been named the newspaper's city editor.

Greene's most recent assignment was as assistant District editor for politics and government.

She is known in the newsroom for her extensive knowledge of the city and for a collegial style of management. In her new role, she will take charge of the Metro section's entire D.C. staff, with responsibility for coverage of all aspects of life in the city.

Robert McCartney, the assistant managing editor for Metro news, and his deputies praised the compelling vision she offered for "vibrant, engaged reporting of the city" and "her impressive record both as a high-impact reporter and as an editor of award-winning city coverage."

After joining The Post in 1983, Greene covered District assignments that included politics, housing and social services. She has been a member of Metro's projects team, writing about the effects of drugs and violence.

She became a City Desk editor early in 2004, and the first story assigned to her involved the discovery of excessive levels of lead in the District's water supply. She helped to oversee The Post's continued pursuit of that story, which was recognized with the 2005 Selden Ring award for investigative journalism.

Greene, who is a resident of the District, is a graduate of James Madison University and the University of Maryland. She was awarded a Nieman Fellowship in 1990 to study social policy at Harvard University.

Before coming to The Post, she worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer and the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.

In announcing her selection to the staff this week, McCartney noted that she will assume her new role at a critical time for the city. This is a major election year in the District, with campaigns already under way for principal city government offices.

In addition, the editors pointed out that socioeconomic and demographic changes are transforming many Washington neighborhoods.

Greene succeeds Gabriel Escobar, who left The Post to become associate director for publications at the Pew Hispanic Center.