Vicky Ho named editor of the Anchorage Daily News

Vicky Ho, who was serving as the interim editor of the Anchorage Daily News following the retirement of longtime newsroom leader David Hulen in March, has been named its editor.

President, CEO and Publisher Ryan Binkley announced the change Tuesday, effective immediately.

“Running the most powerful newsroom in a state like Alaska is a unique job in journalism and we were lucky to have a robust slate of candidates,” Binkley said in an email to staff. “In the end it was clear that the person most qualified to lead the newsroom into its next phase is Vicky.”

Ho had been the newsroom’s managing editor since 2022 and previously served as deputy editor/online in addition to other roles. In her new position, she will be responsible for content and the overall direction of the newsroom in addition to overseeing the management of day-to-day news operations across platforms.

She succeeds Hulen, who retired as editor in mid-March after 10 years in the role and 39 years overall at the Daily News.

Tuesday’s announcement comes in the wake of other changes to Daily News leadership earlier this year. Binkley stepped into the role of publisher after the departure of predecessor Andy Pennington, who had overseen overall company operations since 2018. Kea Cuaresma, formerly the chief revenue officer, is now the vice president of revenue and community engagement, overseeing sales, subscriptions, events and community relations.

Ho joined the ADN in 2015 after working at the Steamboat Pilot & Today in Colorado, where she held the role of evening editor. At the Daily News, Alaska’s most-read news site and newspaper, she has helped lead online coverage and strategy initiatives that resulted in significant increases in paid digital audience as well as growth in Alaska readership. She’s also worked to develop partnerships with other news organizations and identify other opportunities for collaboration, capacity-building and development.

“I’m honored to be stepping into this role at a critically important time for the ADN, Alaska journalism and the news industry overall,” Ho said. “The work of independent local journalists is as important as ever. Every day, I’m inspired by my colleagues’ deep commitment to our community and readers’ strong connection to our journalism.

“As we continue to work toward building out a newsroom team aligned around the mission of serving Alaskans, I remain hopeful for the future of our organization and optimistic about what the next era of the Daily News may bring.”

In addition to her work at the ADN, Ho has coached newsrooms from across the country that worked to transition to a sustainable digital publishing model, as part of an intensive program hosted by the Poynter Institute. She is a member of the Alaska Press Club’s board, as well as a member of the Online News Association and Asian American Journalists Association.

“These next few years will be critical as we execute the final stages of our digital transition, and as new tools, products and platforms come online that will change the work of news-gathering,” Binkley said. “We are facing a time of great disruption and we’ll be lucky to have Vicky’s steady hand on the rudder as we navigate it.”