AP biz news, with new editor, to launch new coverage initiatives

The Associated Press business news operation, which now has a new leader in business editor Hal Ritter, is hiring for at least 10 reporting and editing spots in the coming weeks.

Some of the hires will be part of new initiatives by the wire service in personal finance and in writing about the financial impact of general news stories.

In New York, there are three positions open, including a personal finance editor, a spot news editor and a reporter for the Money & Markets team. The personal finance editor slot is a new position that will oversee the development of and direct a new AP personal finance service for print and online. Â

In the AP bureau in Washington, there are three slots available. One is an editor overseeing business coverage of regulatory agencies, the Supreme Court and Congress.

But the other two D.C. positions are for AP’s upcoming “Financial Impact” initiative. One is an editor, and the other is a reporter. These business journalists will focus on the “financial impact of general news events, with an emphasis on state legislative and regulatory initiatives,” according to the job descriptions.Â

The open bureau positions include a retail reporter in Seattle to replace Elizabeth Gillespie, who has left the AP, and a retail reporter slot in Bentonville, Ark., headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., to replace Marcus Kabel, who has transferred to the AP bureau in Atlanta.

In addition, the AP is seeking a reporter to cover financial institutions on the West Coast such as Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual. The slot, previously held by May Wong, who has left the AP, is based in San Francisco. AP is also seeking a finance reporter to cover commodities and futures trading to be based in Chicago.