The announcement comes during a remarkably newsy time. There's the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread racial justice protests and a contentious presidential election. Inside The Dallas Morning News's own office, journalists are unionizing.
"Running a newspaper today is like swimming across a hot fudge river: You gorge yourself on the decadent pleasure of it, but you have to kick like hell to get to the other side. So I'm full, and I'm tired. My immediate plan is just to recharge," Wilson wrote in a letter to his colleagues, shared on Twitter.
Some personal news, as we say on here: After nearly six years, I am stepping down as editor of @dallasnews. What a privilege it has been to lead this extraordinary newsroom. pic.twitter.com/E9p223B0a4
— Mike Wilson (@mWilstory) September 29, 2020
Although he is leaving at the end of the year, Wilson wrote he would hand off control of the newsroom right away to managing editor Keith Campbell.
Wilson did not specify what he's planning to do next.
"I am already getting excited about the next opportunity to do what I love: write, edit, lead, teach, learn," he wrote. "I'm having early conversations about where that might be and will let you know more when I can."
According to the Morning News'story about Wilson's departure, he helped grow the paper's digital audience. He explained why that's important on KERA's Think in 2017.
"Print subscriptions over time have diminished. Print advertising support has diminished, and we're trying to make this transition to a digital world with a digital audience," he told host Krys Boyd. "In order to be able to do journalism at scale, we need to make sure that we have an audience that's very deeply engaged in what we're doing."
The paper has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, the most prestigious award in journalism, three times during Wilson's tenure.
Wilson is a Pulitzer finalist himself. He got the honor during his nearly two decades at theTampa Bay Times. He was managing editor of the news and sports analysis site FiveThirtyEight when The Dallas Morning News hired him to replace longtime editor Bob Mong.
Wilson declined an interview request for this story, saying in an email he would like to let his resignation note "do the talking."
Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org. You can follow Miranda on Twitter @MirandaRSuarez.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gift today. Thank you.
