McClatchy’s new VP of news, WaPo publisher Ryan to depart, a tsunami of layoffs: TBN Ticker for June 16

This week’s ticker brings another wave of important news roundups as McClatchy appoints Peter Baniak as its VP of news for small and medium markets. Fred Ryan has announced that he will step down as publisher and CEO of The Washington Post in August. During his time, the Post boasted multiple years of profitability, expanded digital subscriptions and more. It’s a sad week as well as we see a mass round of layoffs at the Los Angeles Times, dot.LA and The Athletic.

Baniak named VP of news at McClatchy…McClatchy has tapped Peter Baniak to serve as VP of news for small and medium markets. He has served as editor of McClatchy’s Lexington Herald-Leader since 2009 and took on the expanded role of editor and general manager in 2018. Baniak joined the Herald-Leader staff full-time in 1995 as a Lexington city hall reporter. “I have loved being the editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader. It’s a great job. You all are a great team. I am so proud of the incredible journalism that we have done and the difference that we have made in our community,” Baniak told staff. “I wouldn’t leave this job if it weren’t for an amazing opportunity, which this vice president position is. It is basically an opportunity for me to do all of the things that we have worked together on, but on a much broader scale.” Read more here.

WaPo CEO/publisher Ryan announces departure…Fred Ryan, publisher and CEO of The Washington Post has announced that he will leave the newspaper after nine years in August to lead a newly formed nonpartisan Center on Public Civility at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation. During his tenure, the Post saw profitability, expanded digital subscriptions and an increase in its international reach with 24/7 hubs. “During my time at The Washington Post, we have evolved from a primarily local print newspaper to become a global digital publication and added significantly to our ranks of journalists, engineers and business teams, taking The Post through multiple years of profitability. I will always be proud to have been part of one of the most extraordinary transformations in modern media history,” Ryan said. “I feel a strong sense of urgency in my next steps to address the decline in civility and respectful dialogue in our political process. I am grateful for the opportunity to lead the new Center on Public Civility which will play an important role in support of our democracy.” Read the full details here.

L.A. Times to cut 74 jobs…The Los Angeles Times announced on Wednesday that it will lay off 13 percent of its newsroom employees as a result of economic challenges faced by the newspaper as it gravitates towards transforming itself into a digital media organization. Executive editor Kevin Merida  wrote, “We have done a vast amount of work as a company to meet the budget and revenue challenges head on. But that work will need acceleration and we will need more radical transformation in the newsroom for us to become a self-sustaining enterprise.” “We are completely blindsided by this news,” the Times’ Guild Unit Council said in a statement. “This is a case study in bad faith and shows disrespect for the newsroom, which recently added two more Pulitzer Prizes to its long list of awards and recognition for its top-shelf work.” Further, the Guild’s contract requires the paper’s management to bargain over proposed redundancies, which according to a statement, did not happen. Read more here.

dot.LA lays off editorial staff…dot.LA was launched in January 2020 by former Zillow CEO Spencer Rascoff and Sam N. Adams, with a $4 million in seed money and was supposed to be generating revenue from events. Now, the site has laid off five editorial employees. “I can confirm that dot.LA is shifting its business model to better adapt to the current realities of the journalism industry.” Adams wrote in an email to Talking Biz News. “This shift includes a renewed focus on our newsletter products, which will be relaunching later this summer. Unfortunately, as part of these changes we are saying goodbye to a number of people on both the editorial and business sides of the organization. We’re dedicated to supporting those affected with severance packages, health insurance extensions, and transition assistance. I am extremely appreciative of everyone’s contribution to putting out an excellent editorial product over the past several years.” Adams will step down as at the end of the month to focus on a new venture at the intersection of news and artificial intelligence, but will remain involved to ensure a smooth transition to the new leadership team.

The Athletic’s round of layoffs…Publisher David Perpich and executive editor Steven Ginsberg announced that approximately 20 people will be laid off as part of a reorganization of the newsroom. 20 reporters will also be moved to new assignments. They further said that, “the publication was shifting away from having one beat reporter per sports team to broader coverage,” reports The New York Times. “Even with the changes being announced today, the size of our newsroom will grow this year compared to last, as will our overall investments in our editorial group in the years ahead,” Perpich and Ginsberg wrote. “At the end of this process, we will have more than 100 beat reporters on teams.” Read more here.

Lee Enterprises has a new role for Coates…Lee Enterprises has tapped Chris Coates to serve as Virgina state editor to oversee newsgathering in 11 markets, including for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Roanoke Times and The Daily Progress. With his new role, he will remain executive editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Commenting on his new role, Coates said, “I’m thrilled to be in a position to work with talented and dedicated journalists across the state telling stories important to our communities. There are so many important topics to pursue.” Previously, he was a Central Illinois editor at Lee Enterprises and served as executive editor of the Herald & Review in Illinois. He has also worked at the News Journal, Sioux City Journal and San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Be sure to congratulate Coates on Twitter.

Caldwell swaps the New Republic for Politico…Patrick Caldwell has joined Politico magazine as a senior editor. Recently, he was a deputy editor at The New Republic, where he also interned. Previously, Caldwell worked at Mother Jones for eight years, where he held the posts of reporter, associate editor and news editor. He graduated from Grinnell College in Iowa, where he was editor-in-chief of the student paper, The Scarlet & Black. Be sure to congratulate Caldwell on Twitter.

Messenger’s political hire…Adrian Carrasquillo has joined The Messenger as a national political reporter to cover the 2024 campaign, swing states and demographics, focused on Latino voters. Recently, Carrasquillo held the same post at Newsweek, which he joined in April 2020. He was an editor and reporter at New York-based Mediaite, which provides news on the intersection of politics and media. He has also worked at BuzzFeed News and NBC News. Carrasquillo has a B.A. in journalism from State University of New York at Stony Brook. Be sure to congratulate Carrasquillo on Twitter.

NBC News also makes a hire to cover politics…NBC News has hired Rebecca Kaplan as a producer and off-air reporter on the Capitol Hill team. Kaplan wrote on Twitter, “I’ve long admired this group of journalists and can’t wait to cover the ins and outs of the Hill with them!” She joins from CBS News, where she worked for more than seven years, recently as a 2020 campaign producer. She also served as a political reporter at CBS Interactive and as a staff writer at the National Journal. She was also a campaign reporter at CBS News. Kaplan graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. Be sure to congratulate Kaplan on Twitter.

Metro.co.uk hires Scott to cover entertainment…Danni Scott has joined Metro.co.uk as an entertainment reporter. She wrote on Twitter, “Can’t wait to finally cover film, tv, music and everything else full time!” Previously, Scott was a journalist at PA Media, where she worked across Reach publications, including The Mirror, Wales Online and the Daily Record. Before that, she was a SEO and tech reporter at The Sun. She has also worked at The Indiependent and graduated from Swansea University in the U.K. and is an NCTJ-certified journalist.

Metro.co.uk’s TV promotion…Meghna Amin, a TV reporter at Metro.co.uk, has taken on the role of senior TV reporter. Previously, she was a newsletter editor and lifestyle editor at Empoword, a woman-led publication focused on problems during the pandemic. Amin worked as a trainee journalist on the showbiz desk at The Daily Mail and wrote for The Indiependent. You can reach out to Amin on Twitter.

NBC News taps Klein for exec editor role…NBC News has hired Peter Klein as executive editor of investigations. Since June 2015, he held the post of executive director at the Global Reporting Center. Since 2006, Klein has been a professor at the University of British Columbia and worked at CBS News for 20 years. He was a producer at ABC News, where he also worked as a producer and video journalist for ABC News Nightline. He was also a producer at The New York Times Television. Klein has a B.A. from Penn State University and a M.S. from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Charlotte CBS affiliate makes a new hire…Claire Kopsky will join WBTV-TV Ch. 3, a CBS affiliate in Charlotte, N.C. as a reporter. Recently, she was a multimedia journalist at CBS station NewsChannel 5 in Nashville. Previously, Kopsky worked as a multimedia journalist and anchor at NBC station WLEX-TV Ch. 18 in Lexington. She also served as a multimedia reporter, anchor and digital producer at KOMU-TV Ch. 8, an NBC and CW Plus affiliate in Columbia, Mo. She interned at Newsy and was an election land reporter at ProPublica. Kopsky graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

BBC nabs MSNBC’s Monroe…Kristian Monroe has joined BBC News as an assistant editor and weekend executive producer. Recently she worked at MSNBC for more than five years. Monroe’s recent posts were that of line producer for politics and breaking news program “Deadline: White House.” Before that, she served as a segment producer for “Morning Joe.” She has also worked for CNN International and as a producer of “Inside Politics” at CNN. From July 2011 to November 2012, she worked as a production assistant for “Meet the Press” at NBC News. Monroe has bachelor’s and master’s degree from Loyola University Maryland. Be sure to congratulate Monroe on Twitter.

WaPo announces Yaseen as its first Post Grad intern…The Washington Post reports, “The Opinions and Next Gen teams are excited to announce that Renee Yaseen has joined The Post for the summer to be our first Post Grad intern. In this new program, Renee will write about the experience of moving from student life to professional life. Renee graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2022 with a BA in economics, and minors in theology and PPE (Philosophy, Politics & Economics). In 2020, she founded a tech startup from her home in Indiana to help young children stay active and social during the pandemic. Renee will have a weekly column, a twice-weekly newsletter called Post Grad and an Instagram account where she will explore the perspectives and challenges of recent and soon-to-be grads.”

CQ Roll Call lays off senior reporter McPherson…Lindsey McPherson, a senior reporter at CQ Roll Call wrote on Twitter, “Some unfortunate personal news: I was laid off from my job at CQ Roll Call on Friday after 8 years. My position of congressional leadership reporter was eliminated, along with others at FiscalNote. I’m in the market for a new congressional reporting gig, so please send leads. My phone number is the same for those that have it and my DMs are open. Happy to share my personal email there with anyone who wants it.” She worked as a congressional reporter and senior congressional reporter at Tax Analysts and wrote for the Baltimore Sun Media Group. McPherson has a B.A. in journalism from the University of Maryland College Park. Reach out to McPherson via Twitter or LinkedIn.

Insider, union reach agreement…Insider has reached a deal with the union representing 250 editorial employees, ending a nearly two-week old strike. The agreement, which still must be voted on, includes a $65,000 salary minimum — up from $60,000 — and raises of 10 percent during the term of the contract. There is also a layoff moratorium through the end of the year and more than $400,000 in health care cost reimbursements. The nearly 300 members of the Insider Union are represented by The NewsGuild of New York. During the strike, many of them urged readers not to read content — much of it produced by editors and international staff — on the website. Read more on Talking Biz News.

FT debuts markets podcast…The Financial Times has launched Unhedged, a new podcast that will dissect market trends and discuss how Wall Street’s best minds respond to them. The podcast will drop every Tuesday and Thursday and will be hosted by FT financial reporter Ethan Wu, who will be joined on Tuesdays by FT markets editor Katie Martin. Read more on Talking Biz News.

Wallace to cover energy for Politico…Abby Wallace has joined Politico Europe as an energy reporter. She will also be covering everything on net zero for the newly launched Morning Energy and Climate UK newsletter. Recently, Wallace was a Marjorie Deane fellow working as a companies reporter at the Financial Times. She was a fellow at Business Insider and worked as a journalist at London-based Maddyness UK, which provides news about startups, entrepreneurship and innovation in France. She freelanced for The Guardian, The Irish Times, The Independent, Belfast Telegraph, The i Paper and Belfast Live, and interned at ITV News. Connect with Wallace via Twitter.

Industry Dive hires Vogel to cover labor and health…Susanna Vogel has joined Industry Dive to cover labor issues in health care. Recently, she reported and wrote in-depth features and trend pieces for Morning Brew’s workplace vertical, HR Brew. She also reported and wrote the daily newsletter. Before that, Vogel was an associate consultant at DCI Consulting Group, Inc. in Washington, D.C. Vogel has a B.S. from Davidson College. Be sure to congratulate Vogel on 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.