Laura Marrich to head award-winning alternative newsweekly

Laura Marrich will become the Weekly Alibi‘s editor-in-chief starting today. She fills the shoes of Christie Chisholm, who is leaving the paper to pursue work as an independent journalist.

“Christie Chisholm has been one of the most capable, articulate and well-informed editors the Alibi has ever worked with, and while we mourn her loss on staff, we eagerly anticipate her accomplishments both as an Alibi contributor and a freelance writer at large,” says Alibi publisher Carl Petersen. “At the same time, the paper will be very fortunate to have someone of Laura Marrich’s caliber at the helm. Laura is a born leader with seemingly boundless reservoirs of energy, humor and creativity that energize everyone around her. She will no doubt shine all the brighter as editor.”

Marrich will continue to oversee the food section, while Jessica Cassyle Carr will take over the music section from her. Marisa Demarco, who is already the paper’s news editor, will also take the title of managing editor.

Marrich has been with the Alibi since 2003 when she started as an intern for the paper’s food section. She took over the music and food sections in 2005, at the age of 21, and inherited her position as managing editor in 2007. She has won first-place editing awards from the National Federation of Press Women and was a contributor to projects that garnered awards from the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico. She has been a regular guest on radio and TV programs. Marrich has also been a major force in shaping the Alibi‘s advocacy for gay rights, a service that won the paper a national award.

“For all the pronouncements on the death of American newspapers,” says Marrich, “the Alibi is very much alive as an outpost of independent media — here and in the world at large. The six years I’ve worked at this paper have been a high-water mark for me. As the Alibi‘s editor, I look forward to going even further in keeping the discussion honest and lively.”

For more information, please contact Publisher Carl Petersen at (505) 346-0660 ext. 228. To reach Marrich directly, please email lauram (at) alibi.com.

The Weekly Alibi is an alternative newsweekly serving the Albuquerque area since 1992, with the second-highest circulation in the State of New Mexico and a readership of more than 182,000*. It is independently and locally owned and operated.

*Source: The Media Audit Oct/Nov 2008 ABQ,NM International Demographics Inc. Houston, TX