Honolulu Advertiser editor Mark Platte will be leaving the newspaper to take a job as news director of Hawaii News Now, publisher Lee Webber announced to the staff today.

Platte is scheduled to start May 10 in the Hawaii News Now newsroom and will work with departing news director Chris Archer over the following 16 days as part of the transition process.

"Mark has served us well during the past four years as editor and has worked with us all to continually improve The Advertiser during his nearly decade-long tenure here," Webber said.

Hawaii News Now general manager Rick Blangiardi said a national search started about four months and they found several dozen candidates from all over the Mainland and from all market sizes.

"Mark Platte has a great understanding of how Hawaii works and an even greater love for this place we call home," Blangiardi said.

Platte graduated from the University of South Carolina with a bachelor's degree in journalism and was the editor in chief of the student newspaper. He has worked for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Miami Herald and the Orange County Register before joining the Los Angeles Times in 1990, where he earned a reputation as a highly respected investigative reporter and newsroom manager.

Platte joined The Advertiser in November 2000 as the assistant managing editor for news. He became the senior vice president and editor in May 2006. In that capacity, Platte has managed and directed more than 130 journalists working in The Advertiser's newsroom and is credited with leading the transition from print to a 24/7 information center with the advent of video, blogs and online posts for honoluluadvertiser.com, which generates 15 million to 20 million page views per month.

Platte's departure will follow the sale of the Honolulu Advertiser to the owner of the rival of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin in a deal that is expected to close Monday.