Longtime local journalist and Pulitzer co-winner Jack Foley has been named editor of the Gilroy Dispatch, Publisher Jeff Mitchell announced this week.
Foley previously worked for the San Jose Mercury News for 20 years and has covered Gilroy for much of his 30-year journalism career. Since 1976, Foley has lived in and around Gilroy, and he said he’s thrilled to have the opportunity to once again cover the community he calls home.
“The Dispatch was the second place I worked in the newspaper business and coming back to it is terrific,” Foley said, adding he reported on everything from city government and nonprofits to agriculture and the business community. “The field itself has changed tremendously since then but at its core it’s always been the same—or at least should be—being fair, honest, truthful and relentless in getting information out to the public.”
Most recently, Foley worked as a public affairs officer for NASA’s Ames Research Center, serving as a liaison between NASA, the scientific community and international media. Foley also served as one of the first citizen commissioners on the city’s Open Government Commission, advocating for increased transparency when it comes to releasing information to the public.
Looking ahead, Foley said readers can count on the Dispatch to cover all aspects of the community and to vigorously hold public officials and agencies accountable for their decisions—especially when taxpayer money is involved.
“I think I bring a well-honed sense of what makes news and what is news,” he added.
“I also plan on looking under the surface to see what’s behind closed doors and report on things that aren’t typically reported on. I’d like to make this a newspaper where our readers crave every new edition,” he said.
Foley can be reached at (408) 847-7216 or [email protected].
