Vineyard Gazette editor Julia Wells announced this week that Lauren Martin has been named managing editor of the weekly newspaper. Ms. Martin, who is 41, came to the Gazette two and a half years ago from Canberra, Australia, where she was a reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald.

Originally from Ohio, Ms. Martin received her degree in journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1989.

She began her career as a Washington-based political correspondent for Institutional Investor publications before heading off to sail into Australia.

She was features and travel editor of New Woman magazine there before settling into newspapers, where for about a dozen years she was editor of the Agenda and Metro sections of the Sydney Morning Herald as well as a film writer, arts writer and national political reporter.

She came to the Gazette in February of 2005 to work as the calendar and features editor. She lives in Vineyard Haven with her husband, Mike Seccombe, who is the senior writer for the Gazette, and their two children.

Ms. Martin will replace Gazette news editor James Kinsella, who will leave to take a job as managing editor at Cape Cod Today, a Web site published on the Cape. The change takes effect August 7.

“Lauren Martin possesses all the skills that are essential for a good editor: sound judgment, an eye for a good story, imagination and a capacity to lead and teach young people in the craft of journalism,” said Ms. Wells. “She has helped to strengthen and improve the paper in many ways since she joined the staff and I expect that will continue under her steady hand as managing editor. Lauren is a bright, personable presence in the newsroom and also in the Island community, where she has become involved in many different aspects of Vineyard life. We’re lucky to have her.”

Richard Reston, publisher of the Vineyard Gazette, said: “My first thoughts for Lauren Martin, our new managing editor, are these: Hang on to your already wonderful sense of humor; you will need it. In this profession it never pays to take yourself too seriously. And secondly, nurture your sense of detachment about the swirl of community events around you. It is that quality of yours that will allow you to remain a fair and impartial observer of Vineyard life. Welcome to a world where managing and editing come together in a single role critical to the practice of distinguished journalism.”