Last week Raw Story, the political news site founded in 2004 by John Byrne, announced the hiring of former Village Voice editor Tony Ortega as executive editor.

“Raw is really tearing up its competition,” said Ortega in a press release. “I’m fortunate to be asked to help it get to the next level with an increased emphasis on original stories.” Ortega left the Voice in September 2012 and has been reporting on Scientology on his personal site for most of the past year.

Raw Story publisher Roxanne Cooper (who formerly worked here at AAN) said, “Now’s a good time for us to pivot a bit and establish a deeper commitment to hard-hitting, investigative journalism.”

Also landing in a new spot is former Creative Loafing Charlotte editor Mark Kemp, who has been named senior editor at Acoustic Guitar magazine. Kemp announced his departure from Creative Loafing in May.