Politico’s top editor, Axios’ San Diego newsletter, Evening Standard’s new exec editor: TBN Ticker for July 21

This week we have loads of top appointments and buzz in the TV industry. John Harris has been named a top editor at Politico, replacing Matt Kaminski, who will conclude his tenure as editor-in-chief at the end of August. Axios Local is set to debut its new newsletter in San Diego and in international news, the Evening Standard has appointed George Chesterton its executive editor.

Harris sits atop Politico… John Harris has been appointed editor-in-chief of Politico, replacing Matt Kaminski, who will conclude his tenure as editor-in-chief at the end of August. He had been serving as editorial chair and would expand his duties to include all of Politico’s editorial units under his purview. He is the co-founder of Politico who began his newspaper career in 1985 as a summer intern at the Washington Post, where he spent the next 21 years covering various beats. He was also listed in the Telegraph’s list of most influential Washington journalists and GQ’s list of the most influential people in Washington. His book, “The Survivor: Bill Clinton in the White House,” a history of the 42nd president was a New York Times bestseller and a Times notable book of the year.

Axios anchors in San Diego… Axios Local will launch a new newsletter in San Diego on July 24. The newsletter will be co-authored by reporters Kate Murphy and Andrew Keatts. Previously, Murphy was a higher education reporter at The News & Observer, a role she also held at Enquirer Media, where she joined in November 2015 as a breaking news reporter. Murphy graduated from Elon University in North Carolina. Keatts joins from Voice of San Diego, where he has worked for more than 10 years, holding the posts of investigative reporter and assistant editor. Keatts graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University. You can sign up for Axios San Diego here.

Meet the Evening Standard’s new exec editor… The Evening Standard has appointed George Chesterton as executive editor. He will begin in September. Since October 2021, Chesterton has been serving as associate managing editor of The Telegraph. He worked at Condé Nast Britain for more than eight years as chief sub-editor and managing editor. He has also worked at guardian News & Media. You can connect with Chesterton via Twitter.

Gross becomes ME at the Star… Andale Gross has been appointed managing editor of The Kansas City Star, making him the first Black editor to hold the position. Gross previously worked there from February 1994 to February 1996 as a reporter covering education. He will join from The Associated Press, where he has worked for more than a decade, recently as a race and ethnicity news editor. He also supervised a regional editing desk for the AP for more than 10 years. His reporting resume includes the Akron Beacon Journal and Lee Enterprises’ Waterloo Courier in Iowa, where he covered local government and rural issues. Gross has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

NY Times appoints Knight SF bureau chief… The New York Times has appointed Heather Knight to serve as its San Francisco bureau chief. She begins in September. Knight will join from the San Francisco Chronicle, where she has worked for more than two decades. There, she covered various topics, including politics and homelessness. She also helped launched and co-hosted “Total SF,” the Chronicle’s podcast that celebrates the city’s culture. She won the Scripps Howard Excellence in Opinion Writing national award in 2022 and has been named the top columnist in the California News Publishers Association and the Best of the West journalism competitions several times. Knight graduated from Stanford University.

WaPo’s new Afghanistan bureau chief… The Washington Post has tapped Rick Noack to serve as Afghanistan bureau chief, based in Istanbul. He begins on Aug. 1. He will also cover Pakistan, working closely with the Post’s Pakistani correspondents. Recently, Noack held the post of Parris correspondent. Before that, he worked as foreign affairs and breaking news reporter in Washington, London and Berlin. Previously, he freelanced for CNN and interned at Time Magazine and CNN. He also worked on the foreign news desk at San Jose Mercury News. Noack has a B.A. from the Paris Institute of Political Studies and a master’s degree from King’s College London.

WaPo hires for sports investigations… Albert Samaha will join The Washington Post as a sports investigative reporter on Aug. 7, based in New York. Recently, Samaha served as a senior reporter at BuzzFeed, a role in which he covered how people navigate global inequalities. During more than eight years there, he held the posts of criminal justice reporter, investigative reporter, deputy inequality editor and inequality editor. An award-winning investigative reporter, Samaha has a B.A. from the University of San Diego and a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Jewell moves to WaPo’s ‘The 7’ team… The Washington Post has appointed Hannah Jewell as a writer and editor on “The 7” newsletter team, based in Britain. Jewell will also write The Daily Briefing and help edit The 7 podcast and The 7 DMV newsletter. Since August 2017, she has served as a national video reporter. She has also worked at BuzzFeed News as a senior writer. She authored three books and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge. Be sure to congratulate Jewell on Twitter.

Virginia TV station hires Hunziker as morning reporter… WSET-TV Ch. 13, an ABC station in Lynchburg, Va., has appointed Jacob Hunziker as morning reporter. Since April 2022, he has been at Sincliar Broadcast Group, where he held the post of multimedia journalist. Previously, Hunziker worked as a multimedia journalist at WSET and interned at C-SPAN. Hunziker graduated from Liberty University in Virginia. Be sure to congratulate Hunziker on Twitter.

Phoenix Fox TV station announces a promotion… Fox-owned KSAZ-TV Ch. 10 in Phoenix has tapped Steve Levi to serve as VP, news director. Recently, he served as assistant news director. Levi joined in 1995 as an associate producer. Since then, he has held the posts of producer, executive producer and senior executive producer. Levi has a B.A. in broadcast journalism from Arizona State University. Be sure to congratulate Levi on Twitter.

Portnoy joins ABC News as national correspondent… ABC News has hired Steven Portnoy as a national correspondent for ABC Radio News, where he will be part of the political team based in Washington, D.C. Portnoy joins from CBS News Radio, where he held the post of White House correspondent. Previously, he worked at ABC News from February 2006 to February 2015 as a Washington correspondent. His work has been recognized with honors that include the Bayliss Horizon Award and multiple Edward R. Murrow, National Headliner and New York Festivals Awards. Portnoy has a B.S. in broadcast journalism from Syracuse University. Be sure to congratulate Portnoy on Twitter.

Syracuse.com hires a city reporter…Syracuse.com has hired Jeremy Boyer as a city reporter. He joins from Lee Enterprises, where he has served as executive editor of The Citizen for more than a decade. Previously, Boyer worked as a business journalist at Times Union and was a business/town government journalist at the Daily Gazette. He also served as a business, health and general assignment reporter at The Daily Star. Boyer has a B.A. from Ithaca College.

USA Today’s new trending/breaking entertainment reporter… Kimi Robinson is now a trending and breaking entertainment reporter at USA Today. She joins from The Arizona Republic where she was an entertainment reporter. Previously, Robinson was an assistant correspondent at Kyodo News International, a New York-based subsidiary of Kyodo News. There, she wrote features and news stories about Asian-American issues and pop culture. Robinson has a B.A. in English from Loyola Marymount University. Be sure to congratulate Robinson on Twitter.

Klyce moves to The Commercial Appeal… John Klyce has joined The Commercial Appeal as an education and children’s reporter from his recent post of reporter at the Memphis Business Journal, where he also interned. Klyce was a member of the 2022 Spring class of the Institute for Citizens & Scholars’ Higher Education Media Fellowship. He freelanced for The Daily Memphian and Click magazine, where he wrote stories on people, food, and culture of the region. You can congratulate Klyce on Twitter.

Miller joins The Independent as lifestyle reporter…The Independent has hired Brittany Miller as a lifestyle reporter. She joins from her freelance post as news reporter at The US Sun. Miller interned at Syracuse.com and The New York Post. She held the posts of copy editor, lifestyle editor and managing editor at Globalists, a Syracuse University publication that aims to give students a platform for dialogues around global trends, issues and diversity. Miller graduated from Syracuse University. Be sure to congratulate Miller on Twitter.

CoinDesk to cash out?…  An investor group is in the final stages of purchasing cryptocurrency-focused media company CoinDesk, report Lauren Thomas and Vicky Ge Huang of The Wall Street Journal. Thomas and Huang report, The transaction would have an enterprise value of about $125 million. CoinDesk’s parent company, Digital Currency Group or DCG, is expected to retain a stake in the media, events, data and indexes business as part of the deal, which is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. CoinDesk’s current management is expected to stay in place, they said.” Read more here.

Telegraph’s Farrell promoted… The Telegraph has tapped Gemma Farrell to serve as deputy head of social. She joined in January 2022 as a freelance social media editor and recently held the post of social media editor. Farrell has a B.A. from University College Dublin, where she reported and edited for the student newspaper, the College Tribune. She has a master’s degree from City, University of London. You can congratulate Farrell on Twitter.

Bloomberg’s editorial hire… Emma Newburger has joined Bloomberg’s news desk team as an editor. Recently, she was a reporter at CNBC, where she reported on climate and environmental policy and the effects of climate change on businesses and communities across the country. Newburger interned at MSNBC, NPR and Warner Bros. Records. Newburger graduated from Cornell University and can be reach via 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.