Bloomberg hires Breslau as California bureau chief

Bloomberg’s U.S. national editor Craig Gordon and Americas senior executive editor Caroline Gage just sent the following announcement on Monday:

All —

If it weren’t part of the US, California would be a major nation — home to the fifth-largest economy in the world, with a population larger than Saudi Arabia or Canada. Companies as varied as Apple and Chevron, Alphabet and Disney call it home, as does a population more diverse than any state except Hawaii.

Bloomberg News is expanding its coverage of California by adding a sharp focus on statewide news to the incredible work of our Global Tech team in San Francisco and our Global Business team in Los Angeles. We are excited to announce Bloomberg’s new California Bureau Chief — Karen Breslau, who served for a decade as Newsweek’s San Francisco bureau chief. In that role, Karen sat in then-mayor Gavin Newsom’s office when his city clerk authorized the first same-sex marriage licenses, and she profiled a newly elected San Francisco DA named Kamala Harris.

Karen later founded her own agency that produced projects on climate change, water policy, housing and land use, longevity and women’s leadership, and she co-authored a book on homeland security with former Secretary Janet Napolitano. California has led the nation with policies on pay transparency, the gig economy, renewable energy and the move away from gas-powered cars, while remaining a global leader in finance, venture capital, real estate and trade with the Pacific Rim — all topics that will be at the center of Bloomberg’s coverage.

We’ve challenged Karen, and ourselves, to think big as we raise Bloomberg’s profile in the state, with almost 100 Bloomberg journalists and analysts in Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Sacramento and San Francisco, where Karen will be based and also serve as bureau chief. She’ll produce a regular newsletter curating the best of our California stories, along with her own original reporting and coverage she produces with our team across California. Major interviews, a podcast, even events — we envision all of this and more as we expand our coverage, in close partnership with Senior Executive Editor Brad Stone, who worked alongside Karen at Newsweek. Karen also will work closely with Los Angeles Bureau Chief Sarah McGregor, who has raised the bureau’s profile through strong coverage of Los Angeles port bottlenecks and other stories. Kara Wetzel, whose deft edits and sharp eye brought San Francisco stories to life for our readers as bureau chief, will continue to assist on the U.S. National story from her job on the Americas editing hub.

Karen starts on October 10. “If you don’t understand California,” she told us, “you don’t fully understand the future.” Please join us in welcoming Karen to help show us the way in this fascinating and pivotal state.

Craig and Caroline