Media Maneuvers: Kahn to Succeed Baquet at NYT

Joe Kahn

The New York Times names Joe Kahn, who has been the paper’s managing editor since 2016, to the paper’s top newsroom job. Kahn will become executive editor when current executive editor Dean Baquet exits the position, which is expected to happen in June. Kahn served as China correspondent for The Dallas Morning News and editor and publisher of The Far Eastern Economic Review before coming to the Times in 1998. In addition to serving as managing editor, his posts at the paper have included Beijing bureau chief, deputy foreign editor and international editor. “Joe brings impeccable news judgment, a sophisticated understanding of the forces shaping the world and a long track record of helping journalists produce their most ambitious and courageous work,” said Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger in a memo to its staff.

Infowars, the website founded by Alex Jones, has filed for bankruptcy. Jones has placed Infowars under the control of outside administrators, who have put the company under Chapter 11 protection in an attempt to hold off litigation as the company tries to resolve legal claims against it. Jones was held liable by courts in both Connecticut and Texas for defaming families of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting through his claims that the families were actors and the deaths of the shooting’s victims were faked. A formal damages reward has not yet been made by either court. According to a report the Wall Street Journal, plaintiffs in the Texas case claimed that Jones drew about $18 million between 2018 and 2021 from Free Speech Systems, which operates Infowars.

Wendy Rieger

Wendy Rieger, who anchored the 5 p.m. newscast on Washington, DC’s NBC4 for more than two decades, died on April 16 following a battle with glioblastoma. After getting her start in journalism at American University’s WAMU, she subsequently served as a weekend reporter for CNN and joined NBC4 as a reporter in 1996. She became a news anchor in 1996, and retired from that position in 2021. “Wendy delivered the news honestly — with humor, heart, & expertise and she will be missed dearly,” said DC mayor Muriel Bowser in a tweet.