Matthew Von Pinnon, managing editor of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, has been promoted to editor by Publisher Bill Marcil.
"Matt has earned this promotion because of his leadership skills and experience as a Forum reporter and various management positions, including current managing editor of the newspaper," Marcil said.
Von Pinnon, 35, started his career with The Forum as a Moorhead newspaper carrier.
He graduated from Moorhead High School in 1990 and Minnesota State University Moorhead in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and English.
"I was hired as a reporter intern in 1994, and they kept me on as a paginator," he said. "It kind of morphed into copy-editing and design."
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Former Forum Editor Lou Ziegler assigned Von Pinnon to the Fargo City Hall reporting beat in 2000. He was named Forum city editor in 2002.
Shortly before Ziegler's death to cancer in January 2005, Von Pinnon was named interim managing editor, replacing Carol Tarrant, who left to assume the managing editor position at The Roanoke (Va.) Times.
In his new role as editor, Von Pinnon replaces Peggy Bellows, who left The Forum in October.
"It's a humbling experience," Von Pinnon said Friday following Marcil's announcement. "There's just so much tradition here at The Forum. There's an enormous responsibility to uphold its ideals."
The Forum's responsibility, he said, is to be accurate, truthful, fair and respectable.
"At the same time we have a role to enlighten and entertain and hold others accountable," he said.
"I think it says a lot for the paper and community that I was able to start by delivering the paper and now I'm leading its newsroom," Von Pinnon said.
"I think we have a great and dedicated staff. I just hope to be able to harness its potential," he said.
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Von Pinnon lives in Fargo with his wife, Jennifer, and daughter, Ava.
