Romenesko Misc.
A Washington Post staffer sends me this list:
Wes Kosova, politics editor, to Bloomberg
Shankar Vedantam, immigration reporter, to NPR’s science desk
Nancy Kerr, features digital editor, once practically second-in-command of the post.com website when it was in Arlington, to USA Today
Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso, the newsroom’s top cartographer and innovator on geographic anything, to Stamen Design
Tonya Muse, administrator, to the Girl Scouts Assn
The memos follow.
We’re sorry to announce that Wes Kosova is leaving the Post to return to magazines in a senior position at Business Week.
As National Political Editor, Wes jumped right in to lead coverage of the 2010 elections. He encouraged reporters to take risks in their thinking and writing, and he edited with a keen sense of what readers really want to know.
With a passion for web journalism, Wes brought new energy to the PostÂ’s online political report and pushed us to innovate and step up our efforts.
Even during long nights on the desk, WesÂ’s unfailing collegiality and comedic talents bolstered our spirits.
We intend to move quickly to fill his position. You will hear more on that soon.
Wes’s last day will be May 6. Please join us in wishing him all the best.
Kevin
Marilyn
————
We regret to announce that Shankar Vedantam is leaving The Washington Post
after a distinguished 10-year run to become a science correspondent at NPR.
Shankar joined the Local staff in August to cover immigration after
returning from a Neiman Fellowship. In one memorable recent story, about
the residents of a North Bethesda Condominium banding together to fight the
deportation of their beloved maintenance man, Shankar wrote: For 15 years,
Marco Antonio Rua fixed toilets, replaced broken pipes and answered
desperate midnight calls from residents of the Wisconsin, a 204-unit
condominium in North Bethesda. Now the residents have gone to work for him.
Prior to his Neiman Fellowship, Shankar had been a science writer for
8 years on the National staff. He is the author of The Hidden Brain: How
Our Unconscious Minds Elect Presidents, Control Markets, Wage Wars and Save
Our Lives, which the New York Times called an “entertaining romp through
covert influences on human behavior.” He is also well remembered for his
weekly column, Department of Human Behavior.
Beyond his obvious talents as a journalist, Shankar will be greatly
missed as a thoughtful and generous colleague. His presence enhanced our
newsroom, and his easy demeanor and intelligent take on events made even a
passing conversation with him something to savor. He is a class act we
wonÂ’t soon forget. We wish him well, and we have no doubt that he will soon
become NPRÂ’s newest star. Shankar’s last day is Friday.
Vernon
Lynda
———————
We’re very sad to report that Tonya Muse will be leaving for a job as Director of Member Services with The Girl Scouts Council of the Nations Capital. Tonya came to the Post in 2009, and quickly became the friendly and helpful face of News Operations and the Universal Desk. In the short time that she’s been here, she’s made an impact in several ways. She has taken on important but thankless tasks such as organizing the chaotic timesheet reporting and approval process, and was invaluable in helping plan last fall’s offsite meeting of senior managers. She has helped the Universal Desk and other departments bring in job candidates quickly and efficiently, serving as a great representative of the Newsroom for people considering coming to work here. Tonya was instrumental in putting together the wildly successful Take Your Child to Work Day last month. She also has been the chief organizer of farewell celebrations for the Universal Desk, and we regret that we now have to organize one for her. Please join us in wishing her the best in her new role.
Shirley and Sandy>p>
——————–
We are tremendously sad to announce that cartography maestro Nathaniel Vaughn Kelso is leaving The Post for new adventures at Stamen Design in San Francisco. Nathaniel has produced richly informative print and digital maps for The Post since 2005 after joining us from National Geographic. He was the driving force behind the interactive maps for the Top Secret America project, the 2010 live election results, census coverage, a taxi fare estimator during the District’s transition from zones to meters, and myriad other projects. His database skills kept the Post competitive in covering campaign finance, tracking Obama’s appointees (and his daily schedule), and establishing the geographic foundation for microlocal neighborhood coverage.
Nathaniel will be sorely missed, both for his work and for his cheerful good humor, not to mention his willingness to work until 3 am the night before an election. His last day is May 9, and we plan to have a farewell gathering on May 11 to send him off.
His departure leaves an opening at the junction of cartography and coding. Consider the position posted.
Hannah
Laris
Karen
—————-
We’re sorry to announce that Nancy Kerr is leaving the Post to join USA
Today, where she will be editor of the new Your Life feature and lead a
team that produces print, Web and mobile products focused on wellness,
parenting, beauty and relationships.
Nancy joined washingtonpost.com in 2004 as editorial director of Jobs, Cars
and Real Estate. She quickly transitioned to features where she managed
online coverage for Style, Food, Travel, Magazine, Books, KidsPost and Home
& Garden; she was the editorial lead on Going Out Guide, edited multiple
blogs including Celebritology, revamped the nothing-but-pageviews
Diversions area (comics, horoscopes and crosswords) and coordinated our
coverage on countless award shows and feature packages, most recently the
150th anniversary of the Civil War.
Before joining the Post, Nancy was the director of womenÂ’s programming for
America Online. She worked extensively with AOLÂ’s partners — Oprah
WinfreyÂ’s Harpo Productions, Meredith Publishing, iVillage and Time Inc.Â’s
InStyle.com and RealSimple.com. Before her stint at AOL, Nancy worked for
CBS New Media in New York where she developed the CBS Daytime web site.
Nancy’s last day is May 13. Please join us in wishing her all the best in
her new adventure.
Kevin
Ned
Lynn
