Press "Enter" to skip to content

About The Team

Asheville attracts highly accomplished people of all backgrounds, including award-winning journalists from some of the world’s leading news organizations. The editors and reporters currently guiding our news reports include:

Sally Kestin, managing editor, reporter
Former investigative reporter at The Sarasota Herald-TribuneThe Tampa Tribune and The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, and recipient of numerous national journalism awards, including the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. She was a 2006 Pulitzer Prize finalist in investigative reporting.Email: skestin@avlwatchdog.org

Bob Gremillionpublisher
Former executive vice president, Tribune Publishing Company, overseeing The Baltimore Sun, The Hartford Courant, The Orlando Sentinel, The Chicago Tribune, and other newspapers; publisher, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel; winner, National Conference for Community & Justice Silver Medallion and Urban League Diversity Champion; founder and CEO ChicagoLand Television News (owned by Chicago Tribune). Email: bgremillion@avlwatchdog.org

Tom Fiedler, reporter
Dean emeritus and journalism professor at Boston University’s College of Communication; former executive editor of The Miami Herald; trustee of TheConversation.com/us; co-founder New England Center for Investigative Reporting; former president New England First Amendment Coalition; award-winning investigative and political reporter during three decades at The Miami Herald including a shared Pulitzer Prize in 1991. Email: tfiedler@avlwatchdog.org

Peter Lewisreporter
Former senior writer and editor, The New York Times; managing editor of The Bay Citizen in San Francisco; senior editor Fortune magazine; and John S. Knight Fellow and Hearst Visiting Professional in Residence at Stanford University, where he taught journalism. Email: plewis@avlwatchdog.org

Barbara Durr, reporter 
Former correspondent for The Financial Times of London and a former editor for National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” Barbara was also a senior manager in two international nonprofits, CARE and Oxfam. Email: bdurr@avlwatchdog.org

Gail Meadows, editor
Former editor and columnist for The Miami Herald. Email: editor@avlwatchdog.org

William Robertson, editor
Former writer and editor at The Miami Herald; as the newspaper’s book editor, he was twice a Pulitzer Prize finalist for his writing on literary subjects. Email: editor@avlwatchdog.org

Pat Barcas, photographer
Former reporter, editor, and photographer at several small newspapers no one has ever heard of in the Chicago suburbs and southeastern Wisconsin.

John Maines, database editor
Former database editor at The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. His journalism career spanned more than four decades. He is the recipient of numerous state and national awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes, for Public Service in 2013 and 2019. Email: editor@avlwatchdog.org

As funding permits, Asheville Watchdog hopes to hire additional reporters and news interns to expand areas of coverage. A listing of current volunteer opportunities can be found here.

You're finally here! You've reached the end of the internet!