USA Today's editor-in-chief, Caren Bohan, is leaving after roughly one year in the top role. Michael McCarter, the paper's opinion group editor, has been named interim editor-in-chief. The departure follows a stretch of short editorial tenures and public scrutiny of coverage at the Gannett-owned paper. Gannett has also faced financial pressure, cutting about 47% of its workforce from 2020–2023 and scaling back opinion pages in 2022.
USA Today Editor-in-Chief Steps Down After About One Year; Interim Chief Appointed
07:16 AM, 12/10/2025
Caren Bohen, pictured here at the 2012 White House Correspondents' Dinner, is exiting USA Today after roughly a year as its editor-in-chief.
The editor-in-chief of USA Today is leaving the Gannett-owned newspaper after roughly one year in the role. Fox News Digital confirmed that Caren Bohan, who joined USA Today in 2018 and was elevated to the top editorial post in September 2024, will depart the organization.
Caren Bohan has been a valued colleague during her tenure at USA Today. We sincerely wish her well and thank her for her many contributions.
A USA Today spokesperson declined to provide further comment.
USA Today has had a revolving door of editor-in-chiefs in recent years.
According to reporting by The New York Times, Michael McCarter, the group editor who oversees USA Today's opinion section, has been named interim editor-in-chief. McCarter previously served as interim editor-in-chief during an earlier leadership transition.
Bohan's departure follows a period of rapid turnover at the paper: her predecessor, Terence Samuel, held the editor-in-chief post for roughly a year as well before leaving in July 2024. Bohan had initially been appointed as interim editor-in-chief during a leadership search and was later given the permanent title.
Context: Industry Pressures and Editorial Choices
Gannett, which owns USA Today and more than 200 local newspapers, has faced sustained financial pressure in recent years. Industry reporting from NewsGuild indicates that Gannett reduced its workforce by about 47% between 2020 and 2023 amid rounds of layoffs.
USA Today joined The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times in not endorsing a presidential candidate in the 2024 election.
In 2022, Gannett moved to scale back opinion pages across its publications, a step editors described as intended to address perceptions of political bias and to focus on local reporting. Around the 2024 presidential election, USA Today joined some other national papers in choosing not to make a national endorsement for president; local publications in the USA Today Network retained discretion to endorse state or local candidates.
Observers have noted several editorial controversies and coverage decisions at USA Today in recent months that contributed to scrutiny of the paper's leadership. The company has said it aims to provide readers with trusted information and local public service reporting.
USA Today did not announce a timeline for selecting a permanent editor-in-chief.
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