NYTimes hires away Washington Post economics editor

Justin Gillis, the economics editor at the Washington Post, is moving to the New Tork Times business desk to be the editor overseeing several coverage areas, including energy, agriculture and retailing, according to a memo posted on the Romenesko site.

Times business editor Larry Ingrassia wrote, “Justin has been at the Post since 1995, spending a couple of years as a Metro desk projects reporter before moving to the business desk focusing on the biotechnology industry and, more broadly, on the intersection of science and business. He became economics editor last year.

“Before that, he worked at the Miami Herald for a dozen years as a reporter and editor. He was a finalist with a colleague for a Pulitzer Prize for general news reporting in 1989 ‘for their investigation of financial wrongdoing by a popular county manager, reporting which was conducted in the face of strong local opposition and which ultimately led to the official’s resignation.’ He was a Knight Fellow in Science Journalism at M.I.T. in the 2004-05 academic year, delving deeply into issues that included biology, energy policy and climate change.

“Reporters and editors who have worked with Justin speak highly of his journalistic chops. ‘He is first rate, one of the most intellectually curious editors I have ever known. He’s smart and eager to brainstorm,’ says one former colleague. And another: ‘He has a good storytelling sense, and a really bright mind on how to push a story forward.'”

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