Ledger-Enquirer editor Ben Holden leaving for national courts, media position

Ben Holden, vice president and executive editor of the Ledger-Enquirer, is leaving the paper to take an academic position in Nevada, Publisher Valerie Canepa announced today.

Holden, 46, has been in his current position since September of 2004. He is leaving to become director of the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for the Courts and Media, part of the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. His last day as editor will be April 28.

Canepa said she is announcing Holden’s departure with “mixed emotions.”

“We will hate to see him go,” Canepa said in a prepared statement. “He has been with the Ledger-Enquirer for more than five years and leaves a legacy of award-winning journalism, new media innovation and tireless community service.”

The new position will allow Holden, who is a lawyer as well as a journalist, to combine his areas of expertise.

"To date, no clear voice has emerged on the American policy landscape to articulate the proper balance between our constitutional guarantees to open courts on the one hand and fair criminal trials on the other. This center can become that voice," Holden said.

Jerry Ceppos, dean of the Reynolds School of Journalism, explained that evolving technology is presenting new problems with the way journalists and jurists interact.

"It seems every week a judge has to decide whether a blogger should get press credentials or whether a mainstream journalist can Twitter from a courtroom, issues that didn't even exist five years ago," Ceppos said. "These issues are perfect for a journalism school that specializes in issues surrounding innovation."

During his time in Columbus, Holden has been active in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program as well as other charitable and service organizations. He is a founder of the Columbus Scholars Project, which identifies promising but disadvantaged fifth-graders and matches them with long-term mentors and college funding to see them through college graduation.

The search for Holden’s replacement will begin immediately, Canepa said.