Newton TAB Editor Andy Levin To Leave Paper

NEWTON, MA — Editor of the Newton TAB Andy Levin confirmed to the Patch that he is leaving GateHouse Media and the Newton TAB after four years as the editor there.

"It was time. I'm tired," he said in a phone interview.

Levin replaced Emily Costello as editor in October of 2014, with two reporters (full disclosure this reporter was one of those) his job then morphed into senior editor over a number of the TAB's sister publications in the region. His departure comes after a consolidation of newsrooms. The Needham-based newsroom that housed a number of sister publications recently closed and reporters and staff moved to Framingham. There has also been a series of staff reductions as well as a number of people leaving the company.

Levin, who went to Newton Public School through the 10th grade and who returned to live in Newton with his wife and two children, said the move was bittersweet.

"I was going on four years and things change," he said adding he was grateful for his employer and his experience.

His last day will be February 27.

"I'm really of appreciative of GateHouse for giving me the opportunity that they've given me at the past seven years. I've been in community journalism for more than 25 years and I've loved almost every minute of it, but there comes a time when you just say it's time to move on you need to do something else - reinvent yourself," he told Patch over the phone.

"I realize now is probably a good time to do that while I'm still young enough," he said.

He said he wanted to thank the reporters he oversaw in Newton for the past four years, as well as his GateHouse colleagues.

He said the thing he was most proud of in his four years at the TAB was the story series that resulted from six months of records requests as his reporter Jonathan Dame worked to uncover an attempted cover up regarding antisemitic graffiti.

"My intrepid reporter Jonathan Dame worked to continually repeal record request denials. After about three appeals, my good friend Matt Hills came to his senses and gave us the independent report of that. And I think that was a good example of the public's right to know," he said.

That series has been nominated for a New England Press Association award this month.

He was also especially proud, he said, of reporter Laura Lovett's coverage of the 2017 election.

In the past year both Dame and Lovett have also left GateHouse Media.

"I love Newton. I'm not going anywhere It's my home and I'm grateful to people who have been an audience over the years and have read the paper," he said.

No word on who, if anyone, will replace Levin.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Newton Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Photo by Jenna Fisher