Keith C. Burris, a metro columnist at The Blade, has been named editorial page editor by John Robinson Block, publisher and editor-in-chief.
Mr. Burris has been a journalist for 30 years and has written widely on politics, government, culture, and the arts for publications ranging from Commonweal to The New York Times. He worked previously for The Blade as an editorial writer from 1986 to 1989. For 25 years he lived in Connecticut where, for 21 years, he was editorial page editor of the Journal Inquirer, in Manchester.
“Over the last three years, writing a metro column for the paper, I have gotten to know the city and developed a deep affection for its people,” Mr. Burris said. “My goal is to create opinion pages that are not always predictable and just a good read. My hope is that we can make them indispensable for all Toledoans.”
Mr. Burris plans to continue writing a weekly Sunday column.
While in Connecticut, Mr. Burris won the Allen B. Rogers Award for the best single editorial, in any newspaper, regardless of size, in New England in a single year. The award was judged by the Nieman Fellows at Harvard. He is also the author of Deep River: the Life and Music of Robert Shaw and the editor of No-Fault Politics by the late Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy.
Mr. Burris holds a PhD in political philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, where he received a master’s degree in political science. He received a bachelor’s degree in political science from Kent State University. He has taught at a number of American colleges and universities. He and his wife Amy, an artist and teacher, have three grown children.
First Published March 22, 2016, 4:00 a.m.