Neil Godbout has been appointed managing editor of the Prince George Citizen, publisher Colleen Sparrow announced Friday.
Godbout previously spent 10 years at the Citizen, eight of them as news editor. He returns to the Citizen after two years at the Prince George Public Library, where he was the communications co-ordinator.
"I'm thrilled to welcome Neil back to the Citizen to lead our newsroom," Sparrow said. "He knows the city and our staff well, plus he shares my passion for the newspaper business and the positive role the Citizen plays in the community."
During his time at the Citizen, Godbout was part of the news team that won the 2006 Michener Award for public service journalism from Governor General Michalle Jean for a series of stories by reporter Gordon Hoekstra on the deadly working conditions of logging truck drivers in Northern B.C. Godbout also received a bronze medal in 2008 from the B.C. Yukon Community Newspapers Association for outstanding column writing.
Godbout earned a Master of Arts degree in environmental studies from UNBC in 2004, to go with his Bachelor degree in journalism from Carleton University in Ottawa.
"The Citizen has a great history of outstanding journalism in Prince George and I look forward to working with the news staff to keep that tradition going," he said.
Godbout is also a published author. His first book, a teen urban fantasy novel called Disintegrate, was published by Bundoran Press last year and the sequel will be out this summer.
Currently, he is the membership director of the Nechako Rotary Club and sits on the Prince George Community Foundation's Citizen of the Year nominations committee.
Godbout starts in his new role at the Citizen on Monday, April 16.
