Scott RosenbergIf you notice our commas standing up a little straighter today, our links looking a little orangier, our photos a tad crisper, it must be because they’ve heard the news: Grist has a new top gun. It’s a banner day, and even the banners want to look good.

Scott Rosenberg joins our team as executive editor after many years as a journalist and online innovator. He was a co-founder of Salon.com, where he served as technology editor and managing editor and got people thinking — and talking to each other — in whole new ways. He’s written two books, one on creating open-source software and one on blogging, and founded a site called MediaBugs.org that tracks inaccuracies in the press. In short, he’s kind of a dreamboat.

I’m particularly excited to collaborate with Scott for two reasons: First, I’ve long admired his work (and considered stealing some of his ideas when I founded Grist). Second, and more important, this is a crucial time for Grist to have someone like Scott helping steer the ship. We’re reaching more people than ever before, in an era when the stakes for our planet and all of us who live on it are impossibly high — and we’re committed to arming you and millions of others with the knowledge you need to take action. With Scott at the helm, we’ll bring you juicier stories, give you new ways to communicate with us and with each other, and keep spotlighting the way to a cleaner, greener, more sustainable future.

Thanks for being part of Grist Nation, on this auspicious day and every day. We couldn’t do what we do without you. Well, you and those eerily self-aware commas.

Please give Scott a warm welcome, and stay tuned for great stuff. And check out his first post.