NY Times econ reporter Appelbaum is joining the editorial board

New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet, deputy editorial page editor Katie Kingsbury and op-ed editor Jim Dao sent out the following announcement on Wednesday:

After nine years of deciphering and describing the economy’s tumult in the newsroom, Binyamin Appelbaum will tell us what he really thinks as he joins the Times editorial board as lead writer on business and economics.

At The Charlotte Observer, Binya led investigations into predatory lending and the rise of foreclosures that won a Polk, a Loeb and a finalist spot for the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2008.

The next year — the week the government seized Fannie and Freddie — he joined The Washington Post to cover financial regulation. A few months later his editors sent his wife a box of chocolates to apologize for his not having been home in a while.

Covering the Federal Reserve and economics from the Washington bureau since 2010, Binya has explained the struggles of male workers, the paradox of big-government foes collecting benefits and why a princess’ magic wand costs 28 bucks. His first book, “The Economists’ Hour,” will be published by Little Brown in September.

“Binya has managed to translate his deep expertise of sometimes arcane and dense economic issues into understandable prose that helped elucidate and educate readers of The Times,” his current editor, Deborah Solomon, said. “He also easily transitioned from the wonky Fed world to the real world, taking his reporting skills to soybean country and Icelandic smelters to help readers understand how America’s economic policies, particularly under President Trump, were impacting workers, farmers, companies and economic growth. From covering Trump’s fight with Powell to uncovering the mystery behind Arthur Laffer’s famous napkin, Binya has been a true asset to the news side of The Times. Our loss is the Opinion page’s gain.”

Binya’s return to opinion writing will end a two-decade hiatus since he ran the editorial page at The Daily Pennsylvanian.

He will stay in Washington with his wife and children but will come to see us in the New York office in early March. We hope you will join us in welcoming him to Opinion then.