Jeff Rogers will become the next president and chief executive officer of the Illinois Press Association, IPA Board President Jim Slonoff announced July 20.
Rogers will also remain as executive director of the Illinois Press Foundation. He will begin his leadership role with the Illinois Press Association on July 21, focusing on member relations and programming, with an emphasis on growing the organization and its role in the state’s changing journalism infrastructure. Rogers replaces Steve Jameson, who left the Illinois Press Association on Monday.
Rogers has led the Illinois Press Foundation since 2018 and was the founding editor of its nonprofit news service, Capitol News Illinois. Under his leadership, the IPF has grown from one employee to 15 today. Capitol News Illinois has expanded to include journalists in Springfield, Chicago, southern Illinois and the Metro East. The Foundation also delivers grants to high school journalism programs annually, along with other programming.
“Rogers is uniquely qualified for this role, given his three decades as a newspaper editor and reporter and, more recently, his leadership of the Illinois Press Foundation and the unprecedented growth and success of Capitol News Illinois at a time when many media outlets are shrinking or closing altogether,” said Slonoff. “His experience across both traditional and nonprofit newsrooms positions him to guide the Illinois Press Association as it adapts to the state’s rapidly changing journalism landscape.”
Before joining the Illinois Press Foundation, Rogers was a newspaper editor and reporter for 30 years with news organizations in Sterling, Dixon, Galesburg, Freeport and Monroe, Wisconsin. He is a current member of the board of the Illinois News Broadcasters Association.
“Having been in both the newspaper and nonprofit news businesses, I’m excited about expanding the impact the Illinois Press Association has in the state’s news industry,” Rogers said. “The Illinois Press Association has a talented team that I know well and respect. I’m looking forward to working with this team to help make the Illinois Press Association an even more effective advocate and supporter of the state’s journalists and news organizations.
“I specifically look forward to working with IPA Vice President Ron Kline and the IPA Board in growing the organization’s revenue streams, which will in turn benefit all of our members through additional programming and services.”
Rogers will not be involved in the IPA’s legislative and lobbying efforts. Those duties will be handled by the IPA Board’s Government Relations Committee.
Rogers grew up in Lanark in northwest Illinois and has a journalism degree from Bradley University in Peoria. He and his wife, Sarah, live in Springfield and have four adult children and two granddaughters.