Jim Brady

Jim Brady is a journalism executive, innovator and leader with nearly four decades of experience spanning print, broadcast and digital media—and three decades at the forefront of digital journalism.

Over the course of Brady’s career, he has worked for legacy news organizations, digital-only startups and entrepreneurial ventures, and led editorial, product, technology and revenue teams to help news organizations adapt to a rapidly changing media landscape. 

Most recently, Brady served as vice president of journalism at Knight Foundation, where he oversaw a journalism investment portfolio of more than $250 million. During his tenure, he played a central role in shaping the strategic framework behind Press Forward, a $500 million national initiative to revitalize local news in the United States. Brady guided investments focused on sustainable and scalable local news business models, emphasizing revenue diversification, market expansion, strategic partnerships and innovative product development.

Brady’s prior experience included roles as executive editor of washingtonpost.com, editor in chief of Digital First Media, Head of News and Sports for America Online, General Manager of TBD.com, and Public Editor of ESPN. He also bootstrapped and launched Spirited Media–which operated local news sites Billy Penn in Philadelphia, The Incline in Pittsburgh and Denverite in Denver–before selling the sites in 2019.