New York, NY (August 25, 2017) – SourceMedia, a digital business information and performance media company serving senior-level professionals in the financial, technology and healthcare sectors, today announced that Rob Blackwell has been named Editor-in-Chief of American Banker, the leading resource for senior-level executives in banking and financial services.
Blackwell, a prize-winning journalist who this year was honored with the Timothy White Award for exemplary editorial leadership, is currently American Banker’s Washington Bureau Chief and Editorial Director of Regulatory Policy for SourceMedia’s Banking Group. He succeeds Marc Hochstein, who is leaving the company in September.
American Banker provides in-depth analytical coverage of fintech, regulation, and the business of banking to more than 365,000 professionals in the industry -- including visitors to its website, subscribers to its email newsletters, attendees at its live events, and readers of its research reports and monthly magazine.
Blackwell will lead American Banker as the industry continues to grapple with fast and consequential change in the regulatory and digital technology arenas. In his new role, Blackwell is charged with building on American Banker’s market-leading analytical coverage of these topics and ensuring the brand continues to drive the strategic conversation across all media channels and formats.
“For 12 years, Rob Blackwell has led the best financial-regulatory news team in the industry; his commitment to excellence runs deep and his presence on social media is a powerful source of influence and engagement,” said Rich Melville, Editorial Director for SourceMedia’s Banking and Capital Markets Groups. “Rob is the ideal person to step into one of the most important roles in financial journalism.”
“Marc is one of the truly great editors in financial journalism,” said Blackwell. “It’s been a privilege to work with him and I’m honored to get this opportunity to keep American Banker the financial services must-read resource that it is today.”
Under Blackwell’s leadership, American Banker’s award-winning Washington bureau expanded its reputation as the industry’s best resource for regulatory insight, analysis and news. In 2016, Blackwell oversaw American Banker’s coverage of one of the biggest financial-services stories of the year - the Wells Fargo fake-accounts scandal. The coverage won a Neal Award this year for its in-depth insight into the bank’s issues and the resulting fallout. Blackwell also spearheaded SourceMedia’s enterprise-wide election coverage, ensuring all SourceMedia communities had timely, consistent and uniquely valuable analysis heading into, during and after last year’s presidential election.
Blackwell and his team have also provided close scrutiny of banking regulatory agencies, including a series of hard-hitting reports in 2015 on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. In 2001, he was part of the team that won a Neal Award for coverage of the FDIC's controversial efforts to reform deposit insurance.
Blackwell has been a frequent speaker on financial topics, addressing industry associations, moderating panels, and serving as a commentator on general-market news programs. He addressed the American Banker’s Retail Banking conference in March and he will address the Community Bankers Association of Oklahoma at the group’s annual convention on September 14.
ABOUT SOURCEMEDIA
SourceMedia, an Observer Capital company, is an innovative, growing digital business information and performance media company serving senior-level professionals in the financial, technology and healthcare sectors. Brands include American Banker, PaymentsSource, The Bond Buyer, Financial Planning, Accounting Today, Mergers & Acquisitions, National Mortgage News, Employee Benefit News and Health Data Management.
Corporate Contact:
Petra Hailu
212-803-8331
Petra.Hailu@Sourcemedia.com