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Kathleen Hennessey

David Halbfinger | The New York Times

Im thrilled to announce that Kathleen Hennessey, one of the most knowledgeable, skilled and gifted political editors around, will be our new deputy politics editor for enterprise.

Kathleen comes to The Times from The Associated Press, where she has served as a White House reporter and editor, deputy Washington bureau chief and, most recently, as regional politics editor, charged with surfacing and elevating the best political stories taking place outside of Washington.

In that role, as in earlier ones, Kathleen quickly established herself as a driver of news coverage, sharp-eyed trendspotter, exceptional story framer and loyalty-inspiring nurturer of talent. She spearheaded much of A.P.s coverage of the fight over democratic fundamentals like access to the ballot and the administration of elections, the forces behind school-board battles and the divisions within the G.O.P. During the 2020 campaign, she co-edited America Disrupted, a deep, data-driven series exploring the American electorate amid the turmoil of the pandemic.

She not only gets politics, she gets how politics is perceived outside the Acela corridor: After overhearing parents in her sons Little League complaining about mask rules and curriculum fights, she pushed for more political coverage of school boards and culture wars coverage that we and other major competitors often wound up following.

The word of mouth on Kathleen is a bit, well, beyond: Amy Fiscus called her hands-down the best framer of stories Ive ever worked with. Elizabeth Kennedy, who shared the title of A.P.s deputy Washington bureau chief with Kathleen, said she learned more from her about Washington, how to write about it, how to cover it, than from anyone else and said Kathleen knows politics better than anyone I know.

Thats no surprise, really, when you find out that Kathleen has politics in her genes. Her grandfather, Thomas Byrne, was the mayor of her hometown, St. Paul, Minn. Her parents met at a political convention. And her first job after graduating from Boston College was at a museum dedicated to Hubert H. Humphrey.

After journalism school at Berkeley, Kathleen went on to cover campaigns and government at every level, beginning at the statehouse in Carson City, Nev., where she owned coverage of the debate over taxing brothels. Her last reporting job was covering the Obama White House, first for the Los Angeles Times and Tribune newspapers and then for The A.P.

Shell start with us on Jan. 10. Please welcome her to The Times.

Originally posted here:
Kathleen Hennessey is joining The New York Times - Editor And Publisher Magazine