Loney to lead breaking news team for Reuters in DC

Karey Van Hall, the Washington news editor and deputy bureau chief for Reuters, sent out the following staff announcement on Friday:

We are happy to announce that Jim Loney will be leading the Breaking News Team in Washington. Jim, who was previously a deputy on the team, has shown great enthusiasm in building the operation into a critical part of the Washington newsroom and now the Domestic News service. His deft hand with breaking news, coolness under pressure, and good cheer will be invaluable as this team continues to evolve.

Jim began his Reuters career more than 20 years ago in Miami and Los Angeles. From his Florida base he covered everything from an erupting volcano in Montserrat to Fidel Castro and Cuban exile politics to the overthrow of Jean-Bertrand Aristide in Haiti. Jim reinforced in Afghanistan, Indonesia and elsewhere among assignments ranging from hurricanes Andrew and Katrina to the Bush v. Gore Florida 2000 election fiasco to the first Guantanamo war crimes trial. A brief time in Los Angeles included the OJ slow-speed chase and the Northridge earthquake. In 2010 Jim took a job as deputy bureau chief in Iraq where he saw the entrenchment of Maliki and the departure of U.S. troops. He moved to the World Desk in Washington in 2012 and to the DC bureau with the Breaking News Team this year.

We also want to thank David Storey, who was a huge help in launching the BNT. Luckily, we still have David as a leader on the Foreign Policy team, which has its share of breaking news.

Please join us in congratulating Jim on his new role!