ABOUT REBECCA R. MARKOVITZ

Rebecca R. Markovitz has been a leading visual journalist for 18 years, working at The Wall Street Journal, Crain’s Cleveland Business, GateHouse Media and, most recently, Gannett’s Design Center.

In her current role as the Design Center's director of Center for Community Journalism markets at Gannett, she manages eight teams that oversee the daily print design of approx. 140 of Gannett's smaller newspapers, while also focusing her efforts on staff engagement and development initiatives. As an art director herself, she has won dozens of international and local industry awards for her designs, has led two publication redesigns and designed a Pulitzer Prize-winning news section for the Cincinnati Enquirer. (She also once hired a muralist to paint a cover illustration on a city wall, but that’s a whole other story!)

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Outside of her primary role in the Design Center, Becky is an active Gannett employee - first, forming the Women Forward Employee Resource Group (ERG) book club, Overbooked, in 2021, and building it to a devoted (and sizable) following. In 2023, she was invited to take that commitment to serving women in journalism even further, by taking on the Co-Lead position for the 500-member Women Forward ERG. Between Overbooked and Women Forward, Becky and her WF co-lead (and team!) have programmed more than 30 company events in 2023. Within the Design Center, Becky formed a "Culture Crew," who planned dozens of virtual events for staff ranging from music bingo to trivia to costume contests. 

Becky is also very involved in the news design community outside of work. In 2022, she was elected to the Society for News Design's Board of Directors, and served as Board President. This year, she is finishing her second year in her term as an board member, in the Past-President role, as well. Within SND, Becky is a frequent SND print competition volunteer and a former news team judge. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh with a degree in Journalism and a focus in newsroom management, Becky currently lives in Pittsburgh with her grumpy cat, Duke, and likes to spend her free time browsing antique stores and flea markets for treasures to add to her many collections and projects.

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Instagram: rmarkovitz Twitter: becaroze