Elizabeth Walters named interim editor of Gannett's South Carolina newsrooms

Staff report

Elizabeth Walters has been named interim editor of the USA TODAY Network newsrooms in South Carolina. Walters replaces Steven Bruss, who leaves his position Friday, Sept. 23.

Walters has been news director for the Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail since June. Prior to that, she was the audience development editor for the Upstate Gannett newsrooms.

In her new position, Walters will oversee operations in Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson and Bluffton in South Carolina. Gabe Whisnant, who has been news director for Spartanburg, will serve as news director for all three Upstate SC newsrooms, with a continuing focus on Spartanburg.

Elizabeth Walters, the interim editor for the USA TODAY Network South Carolina newsrooms

Bruss, who has been named senior planning editor at the Dallas Morning News, has been executive editor of the Upstate newsrooms since March 2020. Prior to that, he was news director for the Greenville News and Anderson Independent Mail since 2017. He joined Gannett at the Green Bay Press-Gazette in 1997.

“Elizabeth is a veteran journalist with a love for the community and a knowledge of the Upstate that will help these newsrooms excel,” Bruss said. “More importantly, she is committed to great journalism that benefits the communities we serve.”

Walters is a native of Mississippi. Prior to returning to the Greenville News in 2021, she was executive editor of the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal in Tupelo, Mississippi. She also has experience at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Montgomery Advertiser. She worked as digital planning editor at The News from 2015-2017.

The Greenville News executive editor Steve Bruss.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with our newsroom in this role,” Walters said. “Our team across the Upstate has dedicated, hard-working journalists, and I look forward to continuing to build on everything Steve has accomplished.”

The Greenville News, Spartanburg-Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail comprise nearly 50 journalists who serve Upstate South Carolina for Gannett which owns more than 250 daily newspapers across the United States.