In a note to newsroom staff, Krishnadev Calamur, Chief Washington Editor, made the following announcement:
Colleagues:
After an extensive search, we're excited to announce that Megan Pratz will be our new Political Editor. Megan joins us after nearly four years with Cheddar News where she ran the Washington, D.C., bureau for the streaming news network. That position took her all over the country and the world covering the White House, Congress and the campaign trail. Prior to Cheddar, she produced live programs for PBS, Al Jazeera America and other networks, with a specialty in talk shows and interviews. Megan is a proud graduate of the University of Maryland where she studied broadcast journalism and psychology. She currently lives right outside D.C. with her family. Megan will take the lead on our coverage of voters and elections, working with our political reporters as they travel the country digging into what's driving Americans' political behavior, as well as reporting on candidates and campaigns. Megan will also work with member station political reporters who are covering congressional and presidential politics in their own backyards. She will start on Aug. 22, and we want to thank Ben Swasey who has carried this mantle in the interim while also taking on his critical new role leading our voting team.
We're also delighted to announce that longtime Congressional Correspondent Sue Davis has a new title: NPR Political Correspondent. Sue will continue to be attached to the mighty Hill team, but will focus on big-picture political stories. Sue has already embraced her role with two very compelling stories in recent weeks: on AAPI voters in Nevada, and a profile of Ralph Reed, head of the Faith and Freedom Coalition.
Additionally, Deirdre Walsh, who has been acting Congressional Correspondent for several months, officially drops the word "acting" from her title. As anyone who has been paying attention can attest, Deirdre has been pivotal in our Jan. 6 coverage along with Claudia Grisales. She has also reported on the GOP's strategy of courting veteransto run for office and was successful in securing a rare interviewwith Sen. Mitch McConnell, the minority leader. She will continue that work and be involved in our coverage of the campaigns for the midterms and 2024.
Please join us in congratulating Megan, Sue, and Deirdre on their new roles.
Krishnadev, Arnie, Muthoni
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