Grimes named Review-Journal features editor

Stephanie Grimes is the new features editor of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, overseeing entertainment, food, health, travel and lifestyle coverage for the newspaper and its website.

Grimes, the audience development director for the Review-Journal since 2013, began her new duties Monday. She replaces Mark Whittington, who retired in July.

"Stephanie's ability to help improve readership through social media has been key to the progress we've made in growing our site traffic the past two years," Review-Journal Editor Michael Hengel said in announcing the promotion. "Under her watch, the RJ's monthly page views through social media have reached 1.5 million.

"I have been impressed with her ability to develop ideas for online-only content," Hengel continued. "I'm anxious to see what kind of success we will have in finding more online readership for our feature content."

Grimes said her first responsibility is to RJ readers.

"Moving forward, our priority is to take an innovative approach to covering Las Vegas in a timely, compelling way — most importantly, in a way our audience will find valuable," she said. "I'm very excited about the potential features coverage has in such a dynamic and vibrant city."

The digital transition in features will involve more aggressive online coverage of breaking stories, developing alternative story forms and examining all beats for the most relevant coverage, Hengel said.

"We will continue to focus on coverage that works well in both online and print," he added.

Grimes' career has been digitally focused from the beginning. Before joining the RJ in 2013, she was a reporter and evening managing editor at Deseret Digital Media in Salt Lake City. A Sacramento, Calif., native, she is a graduate of Brigham Young University with a degree in history.