One of Maine’s most knowledgeable and experienced journalists plans to retire this summer, and another veteran journalist has been tapped to assume his role.

After more than four decades working as a journalist in Maine, Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram Deputy Managing Editor Dieter Bradbury said he is retiring in early September. Press Herald City Editor John Richardson has agreed to take over the critical newsroom position following Bradbury’s departure, and a nationwide search will be conducted to fill Richardson’s role.

“Losing Dieter, his editing talents and his wealth of Maine experience will be felt by all of us,” said Press Herald Executive Editor Cliff Schechtman, “but we’re fortunate to have someone of John’s caliber oversee some of our most important journalism.”

Bradbury has been a force in Maine journalism since 1980, when he was hired part time to cover Hollis, Buxton, Limington and Standish for the now-defunct Evening Express. He became a full-time reporter in 1982, joined the morning paper as the environmental reporter after the Evening Express folded in 1991, and became an assignment editor in 2001, eventually moving up to deputy managing editor in 2012.

In addition to leading a team of reporters in daily news coverage, Bradbury has overseen three major projects in his current role: the 2012 series “Deadly Force,” which investigated police shootings; the 2014 series “The Challenge of Our Age,” examining the issues facing Maine’s aging population, and the 2017 series “Lost,” about the state’s opioid epidemic. His last day at the Press Herald will be Sept. 3.

“Journalism has always been a calling for me, and I feel privileged to have worked with so many talented and creative people in my career,” Bradbury said. “The Press Herald is a newspaper that has deep connections with its readers and this state, and I’m grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given to help tell the story of Maine each day. That’s especially true for the work we’ve published on the COVID-19 pandemic, the toll of opioids and substance use disorder, and the effort to protect Maine’s environment and keep this a safe, healthy place to live.”

Bradbury will be succeeded by Richardson, a 31-year veteran of the Press Herald who has taken on a variety of roles, including editor, reporter and columnist. He joined the editing ranks in 2012 as assistant city editor, became metro editor in 2015 to oversee local coverage, and was promoted to city editor in 2018.

“I look forward to helping cover statewide issues, policies and politics and explaining why they matter to our readers – and we’ll continue to hold public officials accountable in the way our readers have come to expect,” Richardson said. “We will all miss having Dieter in the middle of the action. He has set high standards at the paper for a long time, as a reporter and editor. The whole state has been fortunate to have him, including during the past year as he led our coverage of the pandemic.”

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