File under “WaPow wallop”: The Washington Post is cutting staff across departments by offering voluntary buyouts to 240 employees. But not all amounts to cutbacks this week, as the Chicago Sun-Times has appointed Kwame Opam deputy managing editor, news. And internationally, Politico and Sky News have teamed up to host a new political Sunday podcast. Here’s our week-ending roundup.
Buyout blues for 240 at WaPo offers buyouts to 240… The Washington Post plans to offer buyouts to employees across various departments as “prior projections for traffic, subscriptions, and advertising growth for the past two years – and into 2024 – have been overly optimistic” as per the Post’s interim CEO Patty Stonesifer. An excerpt from Stonesifer’s memo reads, “Dear colleagues, I am so sorry to share some difficult news. Over the last 8 weeks, I have been working with the senior leadership team to review the current state of our business and financial results. We have determined that our prior projections for traffic, subscriptions, and advertising growth for the past two years – and into 2024 – have been overly optimistic and we are working to find ways to return our business to a healthier place in the coming year. As a result, we have decided to offer a voluntary separation package over the next few weeks designed to reduce our workforce by approximately 240 people across all functions of The Post. This program will offer generous incentives to employees in specific roles where we believe we can reduce costs if work can be assigned more efficiently, where positions do not need to be replaced or where we can otherwise achieve cost savings through a voluntary reduction in our workforce.” Read the full memo here.
Opam becomes deputy ME of news at Sun-Times… The Chicago Sun-Times has named Kwame Opam deputy managing editor, news. Recently, he held the post of deputy strategy and operations, Live and Express at The New York Times. At the New York Times, Opam was digital storytelling and training editor, and senior editor for digital storytelling and training. He also held the posts of weekend editor and then news editor for The Verge at Vox Media. Opam interned and contributed to Gizmodo. He also interned at Newsday. Opam has a B.A. from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and an M.A. from New School University in New York City. You can congratulate Opam on X/Twitter.
Politico and Sky News launch political podcast… Politico’s UK editor Jack Blanchard and Sky News’ deputy political editor Sam Coates have launched a new weekly podcast on British politics “Politics at Jack and Sam’s.” A new episode will air every Sunday. You can listen to it on Spotify. Sky News Group executive chairman David Rhodes said, “Every Sunday, a new episode will give listeners the inside track on the happenings of Westminster and it will be hosted by two of the UK’s best-connected journalists, Politico’s UK Editor Jack Blanchard and Sky News Deputy Political Editor Sam Coates.” Previously, Blanchard was the founding editor of Politico’s London Playbook morning newsletter. He also served as UK political editor and launched and hosted “Westminster Inside” politics. He has also worked at the Daily Mirror and the Yorkshire Post, and has been a commentator on the BBC, Sky News, Times Radio and TalkTV. Prior to joining Sky News, Coates was at The Times, where he held the posts of chief political correspondent, deputy political editor and banking editor. He was also a reporter fellow at The Washington Post and reported for The Times.
HuffPost promotes McAlpine to senior lifestyle and entertainment editor…Dayna McAlpine, a lifestyle editor at HuffPost, has been appointed senior lifestyle and entertainment editor. She joined in September 2022 as a lifestyle trends reporter. “Entertainment, celeb and TV PRs, please send me your news – dayna.mcalpine@huffpost.com,” she wrote on X/Twitter. Previously, she worked as a trends editor for Edinburgh Live and Glasgow Live at Reach plc, where she had also served as reporter/head of food and drink for Edinburgh Live. McAlpine has a B.A. in journalism from the University of the Arts London. Be sure to congratulate McAlpine on X/Twitter.
Mediaite UK launches… Mediaite, the digital news outlet covering the intersection of media and politics, has launched Mediaite UK. “Mediaite UK will cover the major personalities behind the news — those staffing the top news networks in Britain like BBC and Sky News, the fledgling partisan channels like GB News and TalkTV, and the raucous tabloid ecosystem,” Mediaite reports. “Readers can expect coverage of all the breaking news moments, behind-the-scenes business decisions and scandals in between.” David Gilmour has been hired to lead (not lead guitar, Pink Floyd fans) the new site. Gilmour (no relation we know of) is an experienced journalist who has reported on media, tech and politics for Vice News and The Daily Dot. He is based in Ireland.
For Gannett, Moore is more… Di’Amond Moore, an associate photo editor at Gannett | USA Today Network, has taken on the role of photo editor. Previously, Moore interned at the Detroit Free Press, Chalkbeat and NPR. Moore has a B.A. in journalism from Michigan State University, where he was a photographer at the student newspaper The State News.
Bloomberg promotes Li to the consumer beat… Diana Li, a wealth reporter at Bloomberg, has taken on the role of consumer reporter. In her new role, she will help cover consumer facing companies with a particular focus on big-box retailers such as Walmart and Target. Li joined in June 2022 as an energy reporter intern. Later, she served as a credit reporter and technology reporter. She has also interned at Thomson Reuters, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal and Financial Planning, and was a real estate reporter at Mingtiandi, a source of real estate news in Asia. Li has a bachelor’s degree in English and journalism from Tsinghua University in Beijing and a master’s degree from New York University.
Bloomberg moves Leach to entertainment team… Kamaron Leach has joined Bloomberg’s entertainment team to cover media, entertainment, sports, sports betting and other topics. He will continue to cover M&A deals. Leach joined in February 2018 as a reporter to source contacts and datasets for enterprise stories and breaking news spanning the finance, tech, media and entertainment industries. He also appears on Bloomberg TV, Bloomberg Radio and Quicktake streaming service. He worked as a mergers and acquisitions reporter at SourceMedia and contributed to Forbes. He was also a host and moderator at AOL and reported for InvestmentWires in New York. You can congratulate Leach on X/Twitter.
Atlanta radio station’s new environmental journalist… Marisa Mecke has joined WABE-FM 90.1 in Atlanta as an environmental journalist, a post she recently held at the Savannah Morning News, part of the Gannett | USA Today Network. Before that, Mecke was an environmental journalist via Report for American at The Mountain Times, a weekly newspaper in North Carolina. Mecke graduated from Davidson College in North Carolina. Be sure to congratulate Mecke on X/Twitter.
WaPo makes a Style hires… Shane O’Neill will join The Washington Post as a writer of the Style section’s newsletter “Style Memo.” He will begin on Oct. 16. O’Neill will join from The New York Times, where he has worked as an award-winning senior video editor for more than seven years. There, he has also contributed to the Culture and Style departments. O’Neill graduated from Macalester College in Minnesota. You can connect with O’Neill on X/Twitter.
Connolly joins ABC Baltimore to cover sports… Dan Connolly, a senior baseball writer at The Athletic who was laid off in June 2023, has joined WMAR-TV Ch. 2, an ABC affiliate in Baltimore. “For the Orioles playoff run, I have joined @WMAR2News to provide O’s analysis for both TV and website,” he wrote on X/Twitter. “I’ll be at every game writing O’s pieces again that you can read at wmar2news.com Will still be doing national pieces for Sportsnaut.com also.” Previously, he was a senior writer/web content editor at BaltimoreBaseball.com and worked as a baseball writer at The Baltimore Sun. He also worked as a reporter and assistant sports editor at The York Dispatch. You can connect with Connolly via X/Twitter.
Beaumont TV station hires Johnson as morning news anchor… KBMT-TV Ch. 12, an ABC and NBC affiliate in Beaumont, Texas, has appointed Tia Johnson morning news anchor. Recently, she was a reporter at WDAF-TV Ch. 4, a Fox station in Kansas City. Previously, Johnson worked as a reporter and multimedia journalist at ABC station WBAY-TV Ch. 2 in Green Bay, Wis., and as a multimedia journalist at KTRE-TV Ch. 9, an ABC- and Telemundo affiliate in Lufkin, Texas. She interned at CBS outlet KBTX-TV Ch. 3 in Bryan, Texas. Johnson graduated from Prairie View A&M University in Texas.
Houston TV station’s new reporter…Houston CBS station KHOU-TV Ch. 11 has hired Katiera Winfrey as a reporter. Recently, she was a multicultural reporter/fill-in-anchor at WISH-TV Ch. 8, a CW Plus affiliate in Indianapolis. Winfrey was an adjunct professor at Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind. and reported for both WFMZ-TV Ch. 69 in Allentown, Pa., and KOTV-TV Ch. 6, a CBS affiliate in Tulsa. She worked as a multimedia journalist at KYTX-TV Ch. 19, a CBS and CW Plus station in Nacogdoches, Texas, and as an assignment editor at KHOU. An award-winning multicultural reporter, Winfrey has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Texas Southern University.
Crooked Media’s straight-up pols hire… Crooked Media has appointed Reid Cherlin executive producer of politics. In his new role, he will oversee the flagship show “Pod Save America,” and “Pod Save the World” and “Offline with Jon Favreau.” At NBC News, Cherlin was a senior producer and managing editor, podcasts. He has worked as a supervising writer at Vice News and as a politics contributor at GQ Magazine. He also served as an assistant press secretary at The White House. Be sure to congratulate Cherlin on X/Twitter.
FT hires for data coverage… Clara Murray has joined the Financial Times as a data journalist to cover companies, markets and wider data-led stories. Recently, Murray held the same post at Raconteur in London, where she wrote data-led features on topics from sustainability to marketing. She freelanced, and has worked as a fellow via the Google News Initiative and as a data journalist at Reach plc. There, she was also a tech reporter for the Daily Express. Murray has a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College Dublin and a M.A. in journalism from Goldsmiths University of London. Be sure to congratulate Murray on X/Twitter.
Hogg to cover the biz beat for Fortune… Fortune has hired Ryan Hogg as Europe business reporter to cover tech, transport, real estate and energy. Recently, he was a junior business reporter at Insider, where he joined in March 2022 as a business news fellow. Hogg freelanced for business and finance website Capital.com in London, where he covered FX and ECM markets in feature and analysis formats. He also worked at Hogg freelanced for business and finance website Capital.com in London, where he covered FX and ECM markets in feature and analysis formats. Hogg as a B.A. from the University of Glasgow and a master’s degree from Queen’s University Belfast. You can congratulate Hogg on X/Twitter.
Ganesan joins Vanity Fair’s Hive as senior editor… Meena Ganesan has joined Vanity Fair’s media, business and technology section The Hive as a senior editor. Previously, Ganesan was a senior editor at FiveThirtyEight, where she edited national, political, science and culture stories, including the FiveThirtyEight Election Forecast. She also worked as a contractual political producer at C-SPAN for the 2016 campaign, and as a live events editorial producer at The Washington Post. She also worked as an associate politics producer at PBS NewsHour and was an editorial assistant at Boston Globe Media. She interned at WBUR-FM 90.9, a radio station owned by Boston University. Ganesan has a B.S. in print and multimedia journalism, and publishing from Emerson College. You can congratulate Ganesan on X/Twitter.
Mariam Ahmed is Talking Biz News’ content correspondent. For tips on the Friday TBN Ticker, email her at mariam@talkingbiznews.com or connect with her on LinkedIn.
