Toronto Star editor to step down June 1, search for replacement launched

TORONTO – The Toronto Star says editor Michael Cooke will step down on June 1 after more than nine years in the job.

Cooke was appointed to the position in March 2009.

The newspaper says Cooke is leaving to become more involved in training journalists on human rights reporting.

He is chairman of Journalists for Human Rights, a global media development organization based in Toronto.

The newspaper says it has initiated a search for a replacement and hired a global executive recruiting firm.

John Boynton became chief executive of Torstar Corp. and publisher of the Toronto Star last year.

Besides the Star and its affiliated website, Torstar owns daily and community newspapers throughout Ontario, a 56.4 per cent interest in VerticalScope and minority interests in a number of other companies.

Torstar also holds an investment in The Canadian Press as part of a joint agreement with a subsidiary of the Globe and Mail and the parent company of Montreal’s La Presse.

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