Beyond the Byline: Mike Smith, Daily Herald sports editor

Sports Editor Mike Smith oversees the daily Section 2 report of everything from preps to pros.

He joined The Daily Herald more than 19 years ago as weekend editor, and followed as design editor, Tri-Cities editor and Fox Valley editor before being named sports editor - the fifth in the long history of the newspaper - in August 2018.

While his focus during his tenure at The Daily Herald has been on local news, Smith has an extensive background in sports journalism.

He began his career as a high school sports stringer for the Wheaton Daily Journal, the onset of a 19-year association with the former Copley Newspaper suburban group.

He earned a Peter Lisagor Award for his front-page design, "The Champs," commemorating the White Sox World Series victory in 2005, and was the editor of the 2013 Lisagor Award-winning Title IX series.

He enjoyed his design role on the award-winning "44 Minutes in January," about the Brown's Chicken murders, as well as projects on India, Poland, Mexico and the Philippines.

An alumnus of Glenbard North High School and Northern Illinois University, he lives with his wife in Huntley.