Sally Mahan, former managing editor of The Island Packet, has been named editor-in-chief of The Island News and The Bluffton News.

“We are very pleased and excited that we have an editor who is so familiar with Beaufort County and is dedicated to local news coverage,” said co-publisher Kim Harding Newton.

Mahan has a long history in the newspaper industry. In addition to her tenure at the Packet, she has served as the executive editor of the Key West Citizen, as an assistant metro editor and features editor at the Detroit Free Press, a team leader at the Savannah Morning News and bureau chief at the Times of Northwest Indiana.

She has also taught newswriting and mass media law and ethics at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind.

Most recently, she worked as a project manager for LocalLabs, a company that provides media content to many nationally-known newspapers and magazines. Mahan also writes travel guides for Penguin Random House and has written for several magazines.

“I’m really excited about getting back into the local newspaper scene,” she said. “It’s a challenging industry, but with our hyper-local news focus at The Island News and The Bluffton News, we are actually growing and we’ll continue in that direction.”

Mahan has lived in Beaufort County with her husband, Fred, since 2001.

To contact Mahan, email theislandnews@gmail.com.

[caption id="attachment_29040" align="aligncenter" width="803"]<a href="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DSC06981-e1466708341246.jpg" rel="attachment wp-att-29040"><img class="wp-image-29040 size-large" src="http://www.yourislandnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/DSC06981-e1466708341246-803x1024.jpg" alt="Sally Mahan is the new editor in chief." width="803" height="1024" /></a> Sally Mahan is the new editor in chief.[/caption]