Johnson Named Editor of The Chronicle

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Leadership: Assistant Editor’s Promotion Follows Announcement of New Publisher and President Last Week 

Natalie Johnson has been promoted to editor of The Chronicle. 

She’ll lead the newsroom following the departure of Eric Schwartz, whose final day in the role was Friday. 

Johnson was previously promoted to the position of assistant editor in January. Prior to that, she was an award-winning reporter for both The Chronicle and the Mason County Journal, having most recently won a 2017 C.B. Blethen Memorial Award for Distinguished Reporting in recognition of her coverage of problems at the Lewis County 911 Communications Center. She also received a Key Award last year from the Washington Coalition for Open Government following her reporting on violations of the state Open Public Meetings Act by the Lewis County commissioners.

“With Natalie at the helm, there’s no question The Chronicle will continue to provide readers with the focus on government transparency they’ve come to expect, along with all the other important duties of the newsroom,” Schwartz said. “She’s the perfect person to lead a newsroom that is always hungry for the next big story. Indeed, many of our biggest stories over the past few years have come as a result of her tireless work ethic and dogged reporting.”

Johnson’s promotion comes after that of Michael Wagar, who on Monday assumed the role of publisher for The Chronicle and president of Lafromboise Communications. Wagar was most recently the regional executive editor in charge of editorial procedures at The Chronicle, The Reflector and The Nisqually Valley News, where he was also the publisher. 

Wagar, like Johnson, was a C.B. Blethen Memorial Award-winning reporter prior to his editing career. He worked as the executive managing editor at The Chronicle from 2001 to 2011. He’s also the incoming president of the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. 

Wagar will guide the company after the departure of former publisher and president Christine Fossett, who resigned as of Friday. 



“Natalie worked for former editor Eric Schwartz for three years. Eric was a wonderful editor on so many levels and he’s passed on that knowledge to Natalie of running an ethical, effective and compassionate newsroom,” Wagar said. “I’m so excited and confident that she will continue in the fine tradition of past Chronicle editors.” 

Johnson was hired by The Chronicle in May 2015 as the crime, courts and emergency services reporter after five years of reporting for The Mason County Journal. During her time at that newspaper, located in Shelton, she won 12 individual awards for reporting and photography from the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.

She led the charge that resulted in The Chronicle’s 2016 C.B. Blethen Memorial Award for Distinguished Reporting in the enterprise category in a series focused on drugs titled “Lewis County: Highs and Hopes.” She also led The Chronicle’s coverage of a fire in March 2016 that claimed the lives of three children in Centralia. The reporting won a first-place Blethen Award for deadline coverage.

Johnson is a native of Okanogan, Washington. She graduated from Okanogan High School before obtaining a bachelor’s degree majoring in sociology and comparative literature at the University of Washington. She later interned at KOMO 4 News before joining the Mason County Journal. 

“Eric’s tireless efforts as editor of The Chronicle drove his reporters to succeed at a level more common in newsrooms two or three times our size. His contribution to the newspaper and the community cannot be overstated,” Johnson said. “I’m humbled by the faith Michael Wagar and former publisher Christine Fossett have in me in choosing me to be Eric’s successor, and I plan to continue in my new role to provide the best news coverage possible for Lewis County.”

Schwartz steps away as editor five years after being promoted to the position in 2013. Prior to that, he was an assistant editor, reporter and intern for The Chronicle in the years since his first employment with the newspaper in 2004.