NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Veteran Baptist journalist Bob Allen will return to Associated Baptist Press Oct. 1 to fill a newly created senior writer position.
It will be Allen’s second stint with the independent news agency, which he had once served, for a decade, as news editor. Since 2003, Allen has been managing editor of EthicsDaily.com, the news-and-opinion outlet of the Nashville-based Baptist Center for Ethics.
 Bob Allen |
New Voice Media is a multimedia partnership among ABP and three historic state Baptist newspapers — the Baptist Standard of Texas, the Word & Way of Missouri, and the Religious Herald of Virginia. Through collaborative website and content management, it provides the hosting capability for a far broader array of news-related content than any of the organizations had previously.
Allen said he is excited to reunite with an agency and staff familiar to him, but at a new phase of its organizational life. “I am excited about this new chapter in my career,” he said, in an e-mailed statement. “The staff members at ABP are not only top-notch professionals, they’re good friends. I’m looking forward to rejoining the team.”
The position was created by the agency’s board of directors in a staff reorganization necessitated, in part, when longtime ABP Executive Editor Greg Warner announced he was stepping down. Warner took sick leave following back surgery Aug. 28, with the expectation that the leave would transition into permanent disability. Warner has experienced chronic, severe back pain since 1998.
“When the directors began to restructure the staff a few months ago, we immediately started talking to Bob about returning to ABP,” Warner said. “He’s one of the best writers that Baptists have ever produced.”
Warner noted that Allen’s previous position with ABP was painful loss caused by a significant reduction in donations that afflicted many non-profit agencies in late 2001 and 2002. “We lost him once because of a severe drop in funding after 9/11. I’m delighted David had the wisdom to bring him back where he belongs.”
The senior-writer position will tap Allen’s expertise in reporting on a broad number of subjects — from Baptist denominational struggles to national politics and foreign affairs. It will also draw on his experience at the Baptist Center for Ethics in production and distribution of online news and opinion content.
He will re-join two long-time ABP employees — Lindsay Bergstrom, director of administration and production; and Robert Marus, who last year became news editor after six years as Washington bureau chief. An assistant-editor position has been vacant since March, when Hannah Elliott left the agency to work for the Forbes media empire.
Warner praised the re-grouped news team. “ABP’s new structure, dividing the executive and editorial functions, allows us to pair Bob’s incredible talent with David’s executive skills. Adding them to the editorial leadership Rob Marus already provides gives ABP its strongest team ever. Ultimately, all Baptists will benefit as our reporting of Christian news and information expands exponentially.”
Allen, a native of Marion, Ill., holds a journalism degree from the University of Southern Illinois and a master of divinity degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He will work out of a home office in suburban Nashville, Tenn., where he lives with his wife, Vicki. Allen has two adult children — Patrick, 22; and Amy, 19. He is a member of First Baptist Church of Murfreesboro, Tenn.
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