Saundra Keyes, editor of The Honolulu Advertiser since December 2000, is leaving the newspaper to become a journalism professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Keyes will be replaced by Managing Editor Mark Platte, who joined The Advertiser in 2000.

The changes — which take effect next month — were announced yesterday by Mike Fisch, The Advertiser's publisher and president.

"Saundra has contributed a great deal to the improvement of The Advertiser during her tenure as the editor of this newspaper. I cannot begin to thank her enough for her stewardship and leadership during a time of profound changes at Hawai'i's best and oldest newspaper," Fisch said in an e-mail to staffers.

"Mark has accepted the challenge of continuing the legacy of fine work that has been our hallmark under Saundra," added Fisch. "Mark has demonstrated his love for Hawai'i and his passion for quality journalism. I look forward to his long tenure as the editor of The Honolulu Advertiser."

Founded in 1856, The Advertiser is the state's largest newspaper with an average daily circulation of 143,271 and a Sunday circulation of 162,388.

Platte, 45, joined The Advertiser in 2000 and became its managing editor in 2004. Before that, he served as an editor and reporter at the Los Angeles Times for more than a decade.

A native of Queens, N.Y., Platte also has worked at The Orange County Register, The Miami Herald and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

He is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and is married to local public relations consultant Sara Platte. The couple has two children, Brianna, 7, and Christopher, 5.

"Saundra Keyes is a tough act to follow but I plan to do my best," Platte said. "I am incredibly honored to be named editor of The Advertiser in its 150th year. This is a special place with special people and a rich history. We will continue to cover Hawai'i in a manner that our readers expect and deserve."

Keyes has had a longtime interest in journalism education and is president of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, which accredits college journalism programs.

She will become a professor at the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno. "I'm looking forward to joining the Reynolds School faculty and helping to train a new generation of journalists," Keyes said. "But it is hard to leave Hawai'i and even harder to leave the people I've been lucky enough to work with here."

During Keyes' tenure at The Advertiser, the paper received national recognition as one of the most diverse news organizations. Last year, the Advertiser was one of two newspapers in the country to be awarded the Robert G. McGruder Awards for Diversity Leadership.

"I'm proud of the kind of journalism that we've accomplished together," Keyes said, "and grateful for the aloha spirit that both my Advertiser colleagues and our readers have been generous enough to share."

Reach Rick Daysog at rdaysog@honoluluadvertiser.com.