Huntington Native Named Knight Foundation Executive

A former Huntington man has been named a vice president of a foundation that supports journalism, community projects and the arts.

James Brady, who graduated from Huntington High School in 1985, was  named vice president/journalism of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. He will start in the new job on Aug. 30.

He will bring more than 30  years experience in all aspects of journalism to his new position. With newspapers seeing a significant decline in readership and digital journalism still defining itself, Brady has been on the leading edge of change.  He has worked for WashingtonPost.com, led the  strategy and management of the 75 daily newspapers, 292 non-daily publications and 341 online sites owned by Journal Register Company and MediaNews Group. He also founded a number of local digital news operations, and has worked in the product, revenue, sales and news aspects of the operations.

Huntington is more than just a fond memory for Brady, who said he still has friends in town, including Greenlawn and Centerport. “Every time I come back to Huntington, it seems as if places are going away, but there are always a couple of places in town” that he likes to visit, mentioning getting a slice at DiRaimo Pizzeria and checking out the many restaurants along Main Street

He said he grew up near the line for the Cold Spring Harbor school district was glad he went to Huntington schools. “We had kids from all sorts of backgrounds, and I got to learn how to operate in the world,” he said.
In school, he participated in junior varsity basketball and intramurals, and was designated one year as the “nicest,” another as  “biggest gossip.”
The Knight position is a great opportunity, he said, to bring his considerable experiences to a new level.
The Knight foundation, based in Miami, invests in citizen engagement, journalism, education and other community innovations.
Alberto Ibargüen, CEO and president of the foundation, was previously an executive at Newsday.

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