Editor Louis Graham resigns from The Commercial Appeal

As a young reporter in The Commercial Appeal’s far-flung network of small-town bureaus, Louis Graham didn’t waste time making his mark.

After the County Executive in Madison County, Tennessee announced a crackdown on delinquent taxpayers, Graham began digging. What he found was that the executive himself was several years behind on his taxes.

It was the sort of journalism that would define Graham’s career over the decades to come: hard-hitting, in-depth and fearless. “That sort of set me on a course to do what I’ve done,” he said.

On Wednesday, some 38 years after he began working in the newspaper’s now-shuttered Jackson bureau, Graham announced his resignation as editor of The Commercial Appeal. He’s leaving to become executive director of enterprise content at ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

For Graham, who turns 60 later this month, the career change isn’t as dramatic as it might seem. “I’m just moving into another mission,” he said.

Michael Anastasi, vice president of news for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee, said Mark Russell, currently Opinion and Engagement Editor for the paper, will serve as interim executive editor while a search is conducted for Graham’s successor.

More: The Commercial Appeal celebrates 175 years

Anastasi said Graham will be difficult to replace.

“The Commercial Appeal and the people of Memphis, more importantly, have benefited from the skill, dedication and passion that Louis Graham had for journalism and serving the community for more than 38 years,” he said.

"Louis is 'Mr. Memphis'. He has given his time and his heart to The Commercial Appeal, its readers and the community. His investigative work as a reporter and then as an editor have changed lives for the better - I can't think of a greater legacy," said Manny Garcia, Gannett's East Executive Editor.

The Commercial Appeal became part of the network with Gannett Co.’s purchase last year of Journal Media Group, the newspaper’s previous owner.

Graham, whose departure date is May 12, had risen steadily through the ranks – from reporter to assistant metro editor, metro editor, assistant managing editor and managing editor – before being named editor in 2013.

Along the way, he either produced or supervised some of the newspaper’s most impactful stories. He uncovered major irregularities in the reappraisals done by the Shelby County Assessor’s Office, leading to millions of dollars in refunds to taxpayers, and reported on a jobs-for-sale scheme in the Sheriff’s Office.

Perhaps his most memorable work as a reporter came in a project titled “Pyramid Dreams, Pyramid Schemes,” in which he detailed the ill-fated effort by local government to develop The Pyramid under an arrangement with the late controversial financier Sidney Shlenker.

Graham said the work of The CA remains as important as ever, even with the troubles afflicting the newspaper industry. Papers nationwide have seen their revenues plummet as advertisers gravitated to the Internet or themselves were hurt by the web.

“The mission hasn’t changed,” he said. “There’s just a lot of pressure on the business model.”

Graham said he’s had “a blast” at the newspaper, but he looks forward to a second career.

“It’s time – it’s time for someone else to lead,” he said.