We start off this week’s TBN ticker by congratulating former Wall Street Journal executive William Lewis as he assumes the position of CEO and publisher of The Washington Post. He stated that he was “thrilled and humbled” to be taking on this role. Layoffs don’t seem to cease as Condé Nast will axe more than 250 staff members as the company aims to lower costs. Congratulations are also in order for Bobby Caina Calvan who has been named global news manager at The Associated Press.
Lewis becomes CEO and pub at WaPo… The Washington Post has tapped veteran executive William Lewis to serve as CEO and publisher. He will take office on Jan. 2, and succeed outgoing interim CEO Patty Stonesifer. “The Washington Post is a premier global media publisher of record, known for its 145-year-old history of unflinching journalism, and I am thrilled and humbled to be at its helm as both a media executive and former reporter,” Lewis said. He is the founder, CEO and publisher of The News Movement, a media business targeting a Gen Z audience. He is also Vice Chair at The Associated Press, where he also served as a non-executive director. Previously, he was at Dow Jones, where he worked for more than six years, holding the post of interim CEO, and then that of CEO and publisher of The Wall Street Journal. He also served as CEO of Murdoch’s News Corp. He also worked at the Telegraph Media Group, Sunday Times and the Financial Times. You can connect with Lewis on X/Twitter.
Condé Nast’s nasty layoffs… Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch has announced that the publisher plans to lay off approximately 5 percent of its workforce. The move comes as the company aims to lower costs to compete in a highly competitive digital media landscape. “Over the next several months we will be taking additional steps to find efficiencies and reduce costs from the business so that we can continue to invest in strategic growth areas and continue to support the editorial core of our business, as outlined above,” Lynch said. “We are prioritizing cost reductions through real estate/office space savings (for example, we are already in the process of bringing our teams in the UK together in one space), closing open roles and re-phasing certain long-term projects across the business.” Read the full memo here. The layoffs are expected to be spread over the next few months.
AP promotes Calvan to global news manager… The Associated Press has tapped Bobby Caina Calvan to serve as global news manager. He joined the newsroom in July 2019 as a multiformat journalist and also worked as a general assignment reporter. Previously, Calvan served as director of operations at the nonprofit Fund for Investigative Journalism and also freelanced for various outlets. He was also a congressional reporter at Boston Globe Media and a senior writer at The Sacramento Bee. He secured a fellowship at the International Center for Journalists and freelanced as a Boston Globe national correspondent. Calvan graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Be sure to congratulate Calvan on X/Twitter.
Branch takes on domestic correspondent role at NY Times… New York Times sports reporter John Branch has been tapped to serve as a domestic correspondent. In his new role, he will be contributing across the Times’ desks. Recently, Branch contributed to the Times’ Climate, National, Styles and Magazine sections. He also participated in multimedia projects for Graphics. Prior to joining the Times in September 2005, he was a columnist at The Fresno Bee. He has also worked as a business reporter and a beat reporter/feature writer at the Colorado Springs Gazette. The author of two books, Branch has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. Be sure to congratulate Branch on X/Twitter.
Stallman appointed ed-at-large at The Athletic… Jason Stallman will join The Athletic on Dec. 4 as editor-at-large. “Jason will help oversee the overall quality and integrity of our journalism across the newsroom, while spearheading projects and lines of coverage that impact multiple sports,” The Times reported. “He will also launch initiatives aimed at the biggest moments on the sports calendar.” Stallman has been with The New York Times for 20 years. Recently, he oversaw the Times’ revelatory documentary work. Previously, he was an editor at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and Arizona Daily Star.
O’Connor takes on the music beat at The Independent… Roisin O’Connor, a culture news and music editor at The Independent, has taken on the role of music editor. O’Connor has been with The Independent for more than nine years. She joined in July 2014 as a social media assistant and was later appointed music correspondent. She freelanced for Time Out and interned at Uncut Magazine in London. She also reported for the North London Press, Telegraph Media Group and the South Wales Evening Post. She also worked as an editorial assistant at The Sun. O’Connor has a bachelor’s degree from Swansea University in Wales and a master’s degree in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
Broaddus swaps CNN for MSNBC… NBC has hired Adrienne Broaddus as a correspondent working across all news platforms and MSNBC. She will be based in Chicago. Broaddus joins from CNN, where she covered breaking news. Before that, she held a reporter post at NBC station KARE-TV Ch. 11 in Minneapolis. She also worked as a multi-skilled journalist (MSJ) at Tegna. She worked as a reporter at CW’s TV station WISH-TV Ch. 8 in Indianapolis, Ind., and a reporter/anchor at WNEM-TV Ch. 5, a CBS and MyNetworkTV affiliate in Bay City, Mich. She also reported for NBC outlet WILX-TV Ch. 10 in Onondaga, Mich. Broaddus has a B.A. in journalism from Michigan State University and a master’s degree in journalism from Ball State University in Indiana. Be sure to congratulate Broaddus on X/Twitter.
The Guardian’s lifestyle and wellness vertical… The Guardian US has debuted a lifestyle and wellness vertical “Well Actually.” The new vertical’s team includes Estelle Tang, lifestyle and wellness editor; Jessica Reed, head of narrative; and new hire Madeleine Aggeler, lifestyle and wellness reporter. Columnists include Jessica Defino, an ex-beauty editor whose column Ask Ugly surveys how beauty culture affects our lives, deconstructing myths and thinking through complex questions of identity, commerce, and emotion; Elle Hunt whose column Why Am I Like This? will focus on happiness and big life questions as typical milestones and achievements become less definitive; and Shayla Love who will focus on mental health and the brain. More details can be found here.
Tacoma’s Fox station names Rayford weekday evening anchor…Tacoma’s Fox station KCPQ-TV Ch. 13 has appointed Sabirah Rayford weekday evening anchor. Since September 2021, she has been an anchor and reporter at Houston NBC outlet KPRC-TV Ch. 2. Before that, Rayford was a TV news reporter and fill-in-anchor at WPTV-TV Ch. 5, an NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, Fla. She also held the posts of reporter, digital producer and fill-in-anchor at WKYT-TV Ch. 27, a CBS and CW affiliate in Lexington, Ky., where she previously interned. Rayford has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Kentucky. Be sure to congratulate Rayford on X/Twitter.
Carponelli joins Des Moines NBC station as weekend anchor/storyteller… Des Moines NBC station WHO-TV Ch. 13 has hired Lisa Carponelli as a weekend anchor and storyteller. Previously, Carponelli was a news anchor at Des Moines’ ABC affiliate WOI-TV Ch. 5, where she worked for seven years. She was also a career coach at the Iowa Center for Economic Success, where she provided tailored and custom business counseling for women and POC-owned businesses. Carponelli has a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University.
NBC Minneapolis’ new anchor… Alexis Rogers has joined NBC station KARE-TV Ch. 11 in Minneapolis as an anchor and community relations manager. Recently, she was an evening anchor and co-host at WISH-TV Ch. 8, a CW affiliate in Indianapolis, Ind. Previously, Rogers worked as a reporter and anchor at Hearst Television and held the posts of general assignment reporter and fill-in-anchor at ABC affiliate KATV-TV Ch. 7 in Little Rock, Ark. She was an anchor and producer at Newsy, and served as a production assistant, producer, anchor and reporter at KOMU-TV Ch. 8, an NBC/CW Plus affiliate in Columbia, Mo. An Emmy and Murrow-award-winning journalist, Rogers has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. You can congratulate Rogers on X/Twitter.
Vox’s editorial promotion… Libby Nelson, policy editor at Vox.com, has taken on the role of editorial director for policy, politics, and health and science. In more than nine years at Vox, Nelson held the posts of reporter, associate editor, news editor and deputy policy editor. She also taught at American University. In addition, she also reported for Politico Pro, Inside Higher Ed and The Scranton Times-Tribune in Pennsylvania. Nelson has a B.S. in journalism from Northwestern University. Be sure to congratulate Nelson on X/Twitter.
NY Times names two new assistant editors… The New York Times Home team has appointed Thomas Lotito and Laura Montenegro as assistant editors. Lotito joined the Times in February 2015 as an editorial assistant. Since then, he has served as a news assistant, senior news assistant, staff editor and senior staff editor. He also interned at the Times from June 2014 to August 2014 via the Dow Jones News Fund. Lotito has a bachelor’s degree from Marist College in New York and a master’s degree from Stony Brook University. Be sure to congratulate Lotito on X/Twitter. Montenegro joined the Times in December 2020 as a Home page editor. She then took on the role of senior staff editor. Prior to joining the Times, Montenegro held the posts of news curation editor and news curation lead editor at BuzzFeed. She freelanced and then worked as a digital news producer at ABC 7. Montenegro has a B.A. in journalism from California State University-Long Beach. Be sure to congratulate Montenegro on X/Twitter.
PolitiFact appoints Sanders EIC… PolitiFact, the Poynter Institute’s fact-checking website, has promoted Katie Sanders to editor-in-chief. “Our work is urgent and needed. When you come to work for PolitiFact, you are almost overcome by this sense of mission to help voters make sense of confusing issues in their lives,” Sanders said. “That’s what kept me here, and why I’m so excited to lead such a dedicated team of journalists.” In 12 years at PolitiFact, Sanders has held the posts of Florida staff reporter, deputy editor and managing editor. She also helped launch a vertical that introduced fact-checking to TV and radio political commentary. She has also worked at The Tampa Bay Times, The St. Petersburg Times and ABC News. Sanders has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. Be sure to congratulate Sanders on X/Twitter.
Matsuda joins Digital Frontier as reporter… Tom Matsuda has joined Digital Frontier, a new publication focused on business, finance and culture, as a reporter. Recently, he freelanced for Al Jazeera, FT’s Sifted, The Block and The Japan Times. Matsuda also worked as a deals reporter and deals newsletter writer at The Block. He interned at Sifted. Matsuda graduated from SOAS University of London. You can congratulate Matsuda on X/Twitter.
Fox Business Network signs Saberi as Chicago-based correspondent… Kelly Saberi will join Fox Business Network as a Chicago-based correspondent later this month. Since October 2021, she has been at Austin’s Fox station, where she worked as a reporter for “Good Day Austin.” Saberi also served as a multimedia journalist and weekend evening anchor/producer at an NBC-affiliate in Topeka. She worked as a college associate at Fox News, and covered stories for Suffolk and Nassau counties at NPR. Saberi has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and political science from the University of Miami. You can congratulate Saberi on X/Twitter.
Vestal joins Bloomberg’s visuals team… Bloomberg has hired Allan James Vestal as a senior editor on the graphics team to lead Bloomberg’s data visualization coverage of U.S. elections. He will be based in the Washington bureau. Since June 2019, Vestal has been at Politico, where he served as a senior news applications developer, and recently as an election projects editor. Before that, he was a computational journalist at The Dallas Morning News, and has worked as a news applications developer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. He interned on, and contributed to the data desk at the Los Angeles Times. Vestal graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he worked at the student newspaper The Maneater. You can connect with Vestal on X/Twitter.
St. John zooms her way out of Insider… Alexa St. John, autos reporter at Insider, has left. Her post on X/Twitter reads, “Many thanks to those who made these 2+ years so formative and special, especially @adavies47, @emmacos, @NoraNaughton, & more on my team, as well as my sources, industry folks, & countless mentors. Excited for my next steps. More soon!” Previously, St. John was a tech and suppliers reporter at Automotive News, where she also interned. She also interned at The Wall Street Journal and an NBC-affiliate in Detroit. St. John has a B.A. from the University of Michigan, where she was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper The Michigan Daily. Reach out to St. John via X/Twitter or LinkedIn.
Morning Brew promotes Sutton to editor, Marketing Brew… Kelsey Sutton has taken on the role of editor for Marketing Brew, Morning Brew’s daily newsletter for media and marketing professionals. Recently, she served as deputy editor. Sutton joined Morning Brew in December 2021 as a senior reporter to cover the TV advertising industry, with a particular focus on streaming TV. She has also worked as a tech reporter and streaming editor at Adweek. She has reported on the intersection of media and politics for Mic, and covered the media business and the intersection of media and politics for Politico as a media reporter. In addition, she interned at Capital New York and USA Today. Sutton has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and English from the University of Maryland. Be sure to congratulate Sutton 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.
