Melinda Newman is Billboard’s Executive Editor, West Coast and Nashville. She returned to Billboard in 2017 after previously serving as Billboard’s West Coast Bureau Chief from 1998-2006. She helms Billboard’s country coverage, including the Country Power Players annual issue, and is also on the music business team covering various aspects of the industry. She also enjoys writing about film and television music, rock (particularly classic rock), and comedy. She has written numerous cover stories on such artists as Dolly Parton, Eric Church, Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson. She is the 2020 recipient of the CMA Media Achievement Award. In 2022, her profile on Dolly Parton won second place for Celebrity Features over 1,000 words by the Los Angeles Press Club's National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards. She is a 2024 recipient of the She Rocks Award, presented by the Women's International Music Network.
Newman splits her time between Los Angeles and Nashville and has reported from Mali, Peru, Lebanon, Poland and other corners of the world, but her favorite location is in the front of the pit at a Bruce Springsteen concert.