Melinda is Billboard’s executive editor, West Coast and Nashville. She returned to Billboard in 2017 after serving as West Coast bureau chief from 1998 to 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 TV music, rock (particularly classic), and comedy. The 2020 recipient of the CMA Media Achievement Award, she has written numerous cover stories on such artists as Jelly Roll, Eric Church and Lainey Wilson. In 2022, her Dolly Parton cover profile won second place for celebrity features over 1,000 words from 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.
Between stints at Billboard, as a freelance journalist, the Vanderbilt University graduate wrote for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Variety, Christian Science Monitor, Parade and Entrepreneur, among others.
Melinda splits her time between Los Angeles and Nashville. She 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. She can be found on X at @MelindaNew_man and on Instagram at @morningglowmellie.
