Would You Call That a ‘Promotion’?
In the category of jobs we’re-not-sure-we’d-be-really-thrilled-to- receive-but-we’re-glad-that-someone-will-do-it, word this morning from a source that the Washington Post has finally found a bureau chief for its Baghdad bureau: the AP’s talented Ellen Knickmeyer starts next month.
In a vast understatement, the announcement email today said, “In Baghdad, Ellen will be taking the reins at a time of great difficulty for journalism and journalists.”
It went on to say, “In her previous posts, Ellen has covered at first-hand some of the most risky and violent conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and earned a reputation for a cool, steady hand. We are confident she will follow the leadership of the previous bureau chiefs, Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Karl Vick and Jackie Spinner, who helped us realize our ambitions for the best coverage in Iraq under the most trying of circumstances.”
Her appointment ends a really difficult search for the Post, who had previously offered the job to the Tribune’s Evan Osnos and also sent out a memo asking people to apply for the posting.
Knickmeyer has been the AP’s West Africa bureau chief (based in Dakar) since 2001, and prior to that was based in Rome for the Associated Press from 1998-2001. She also has done reporting stints in New York, California, and Oklahoma.
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