Adrienne Batra has been a key member of the Ford team since he began his bid for the mayoralty.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail
Adrienne Batra, the former press secretary of Rob Ford who ran interference for the Toronto mayor early in his tenure, has been named the new editor of the Toronto Sun.
Since leaving Mr. Ford's office in late 2011, Ms. Batra has been the Sun's comment page editor and a columnist with the paper, as well as a host for local talk radio station Newstalk 1010. She hosted a talk show on the Sun News Network before the channel shut down in February. She is also a former Manitoba director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
"Adrienne has become well known as a fierce and ruthlessly honest commentator on Toronto and its political leaders, through her regular appearances on radio, television and ongoing columns in the Sun," James Wallace, Postmedia's vice-president of editorial, Suns, said in a memo to Postmedia employees.
Postmedia, which took over the Sun newspaper chain this spring, also announced that it was promoting Keith Bonnell, city editor of the Ottawa Citizen, to become the new editor of the Ottawa Sun. Mr. Bonnell has worked for The Canadian Press, the Halifax Daily News, the Calgary Herald and The Globe and Mail.
"Keith is a native of Cape Breton Island and likes stories that are evocative, compelling and unflinching. He describes himself as caffeine-driven, Bluesfest-loving – and on good days, windmill-tilting," Mr. Wallace said in the Postmedia memo.
The memo noted that Wendy Metcalfe, the current editor of both the Toronto Sun and Ottawa Sun, would be leaving the organization. It is not currently known where she is headed.
Simon Houpt