Columbia University cut ties with Columbia Journalism Review executive editor Sewell Chan on Friday, less than a year after he took the job at the media-focused magazine and website.
Chan was named the executive editor in June 2024 and officially started in the position last September. His biography on CJR’s website already refers to his eight months running the outlet in the past tense.
“Sewell Chan served as executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review from 2024 to 2025. Previously, he was editor in chief of the Texas Tribune from 2021 to 2024, during which the nonprofit newsroom won its first National Magazine Award and was a Pulitzer finalist for the first time,” his CJR bio now reads. His exit was first reported by The Washington Post.
Prior to being the boss at Texas Tribune, Chan was the deputy managing editor and the editorial page editor at the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2021. He has also worked for The New York Times and Washington Post in his career.
CJR did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment on Chan’s exit.
CJR dean Jelani Cobb, in an email obtained by The New York Times, told staffers Chan was “no longer with” the outlet, without offering further details.
Chan has not been active on social media much lately. His X account noted he is “No longer active on X” in his bio, with his most recent post being a repost of a CJR story from February criticizing Jeff Bezos’ revamping of his paper. Chan’s X bio says readers can find him on BlueSky, where his most recent post was from a month ago.
His last story for CJR came earlier this week, with an April 15 story on the upcoming shutdown of The Houston Landing, a nonprofit newsroom that launched in 2023.
