• by Melynda Fuller , January 7, 2019

On Friday, The Observer, formerly The New York Observer, parted ways with two of its top editors, editor-in-chief Ben Robinson and executive editor Adam Laukhuf.

Reported by The Wrap, Observer Media president James Karlins stated the paper would not be replacing the editor-in-chief position following the departure of Robinson, who held the position for less than a year. 

Prior to the Observer, Robinson was former Chief Creative Officer of Thrillist.

Since the shakeup, Mary von Aue, who was once the paper’s audience engagement manager, as been named editorial director. The paper did not comment on Laukhuf’s departure nor the status of the post.

The publication, once a salmon-colored weekly, went digital-only in 2016. Jared Kushner reportedly paid $10 million to acquire the publication from Arthur Carter in 2005. In 2017, Joseph Meyer was named owner and publisher; Kushner left to become a White House advisor to his father-in-law, Donald Trump.

Separately, Texas Monthly has tapped Pulitzer Prize finalist and best-selling author Dan Goodgame as its new editor-in-chief. He takes over for interim editor Rich Oppel and begins his new role on January 28.

Prior to taking the helm of the Texas Monthly, was vice president, executive communications at San Antonio-based cloud computing company Rackspace.

Goodgame was also editor-in-chief of Fortune Small Business and FSB.com, where he captured record reader engagement. Two decades ago, he worked at Time. While at Time, Goodgame served as White House correspondent, Washington bureau chief and assistant managing editor.

Earlier in his career, Goodgame worked at the Miami Herald and the Knight-Ridder newspaper chain.

Texas Monthly owner Paul Hobby, founding chairman, Genesis Park LP, noted Goodman’s track record as “a proven editor, a decorated journalist, and an honest-to-goodness Rhodes scholar.” He called his appointment “a wonderful milestone in the history of Texas Monthly.”