Florida Times-Union executive editor Mary Kelli Palka is leaving the newspaper after six years of leading the newsroom and nearly two decades as a reporter and key news editor, she announced to staff Wednesday.
Palka, the first woman and first Jacksonville native to lead the Times-Union, joined the newspaper in 2003 as a staff writer, and has served in several roles, including investigations editor and managing editor.
“Leading my hometown newspaper has been a dream job, especially working with such dedicated journalists,” Palka said. “It has been a privilege telling the stories of the First Coast. Leaving was a difficult decision for me to make, but I look forward to finding new ways to serve my community as I move on.”
Palka also served as market leader in Jacksonville and as Deputy Regional Editor over North Florida newsrooms in Daytona Beach, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala and Leesburg.
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Through two ownership changes, staff reductions and a move of the Times-Union from its 1 Riverside Ave. campus for more than a half-century to the second floor of the Wells Fargo Center in 2019, Palka led the newsroom to cover some of the city’s biggest stories.
As a reporter, Palka covered the Duval County School Board and the administration of former Mayor John Peyton, developing a reputation as a well-sourced and dogged journalist with a flair for accountability reporting. That was a throughline during her tenure as investigations, managing and eventually lead editor, years during which she prioritized reporting that held people in power accountable.
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She oversaw major stories about Jacksonville’s municipal pension crisis, discriminatory enforcement of pedestrian laws, a series that exposed ex-U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown’s ties to a fraudulent charity – a scandal over which she was later indicted – and reporting that scrutinized a failed effort to privatize Jacksonville’s publicly owned electric, water and sewer utility, JEA, a series of scandals that also later formed the heart of federal indictments against former city officials.
The coverage she oversaw on those stories and many others chronicling life in the largest city by landmass in the contiguous United States earned state and national awards.
USA TODAY Network-Florida regional editor Jennifer Orsi lauded Palka as an example for journalists to look up to.
“Mary Kelli is the kind of newspaper editor we all aspire to be, with a deep commitment to serving her community with important journalism and a leadership style that nurtures great people,” Orsi said. “Her departure is a big loss, but the strong team she has built at the Times-Union will continue this vital work for Jacksonville.”
Times-Union managing editor Paul Runnestrand will oversee the newsroom in the interim until a new executive editor is named.
“I’ve worked with Paul for seven years, watching him grow as a journalist and manager,” Palka said. “The Times-Union will remain strong in his capable hands and with the talented journalists here working with him. I will continue supporting them by subscribing, and I hope our community will do the same.”
