Politico appoints editors to lead energy and environment coverage – Talking Biz News

POLITICO has one of the deepest pools of energy and environmental reporting talent in journalism, at a time when our subscribers – at the state, federal and transatlantic levels – are obsessed with energy politics and how they drive government and corporate decisions. We want to tap into that uniquely deep, talented bank in an even more rigorous and coordinated way. That’s why we’re bringing together our Pro-Energy Policy and our E&E News reporting teams into a single, powerful structure.

Today we’d like to share some immediate next steps in this effort.

Debra Kahnone of our most talented and enterprising editorial leaders, will become our first editor-in-chief for energy and environmental reporting. Debra will shape and oversee the unified team, which will report and write for both Pro and E&E News subscribers, with a mandate to bring ambition, coherence and even greater impact to POLITICO’s energy and environmental reporting, and ensure our journalism stands out in the broader marketplace.

There may not be a person at POLITICO better prepared for this task. Debra has an intimate knowledge of what drives the Pro and E&E News audience; She spent her formative years as a reporter at E&E News before we recruited her in 2019 – two years before E&E was acquired by POLITICO – as one of the first reporters on our nascent California policy team. She immediately gave our reporting strength and credibility in a market that has since become one of our most important. Debra soon joined POLITICO’s federal policy team as deputy sustainability editor and editor of the Long Game newsletter. As we embarked on a major expansion in California in 2023, we tapped Debra to launch and develop our California energy and climate coverage, including the California Climate newsletter, which has become one of POLITICO’s sharpest and most engaging newsletters. Debra began writing her own column last year, Currents, focused on energy and climate politics, providing insight into how we can elevate reporters and editors to indispensable authorities on energy and environmental policy. She has a keen eye for the intersection of politics and policy where POLITICO thrives, and the kind of sourcing, writing and storytelling that makes POLITICO indispensable to our audiences.

Debra has a clear vision for how we can leverage our reporting resources even more effectively, avoid unnecessary duplication, and organize coverage teams to report across our platforms – boosting our reporting across the White House, Congress, federal agencies, and state and regional energy centers, while strengthening our focus on corporate and industrial energy decision-making. This strategy will allow us to build on our successful transatlantic energy cooperation with our European counterparts and help lay the foundation for a truly global approach to energy coverage.

Debra will report to me; Alex and I will work closely to ensure the success of this transition. The energy and environment editors will report to Debra, including several key leaders at the forefront of making this integration a reality:

Matt dailywhose industry and editorial expertise has helped power one of our most successful Pro verticals since joining POLITICO in 2012, will become Senior Energy Editor and drive the strength of our Pro coverage while increasingly shaping sector coverage for all brands.

Cy Zaneskiwho has led E&E News for 21 years, will ensure that E&E News publications deliver results for our loyal audience.

Manuel Quinones, who has led E&E News’ congressional coverage for several years and will be a key voice for POLITICO in events and briefings, will become Senior Editor for Congressional energy coverage and help drive Hill-focused energy and environmental reporting for all our subscribers, in coordination with Matt and Congressional Executive Producer Zach Warmbrodt.

Erica Martinsonwho leads environmental reporting for E&E News and the Greenwire publication, will now work with reporters and editors to deliver agenda-setting reporting in Pro and E&E News as Senior Editor.

Also key to this effort is Bob Kingwho oversees the Tech team and coordinates our approach to AI data center politics (and who, of course, helped build POLITICO’s energy operation from the ground up).

As we begin this expansion of our coverage, we are listening carefully to our audiences – and one thing we consistently hear from our energy subscribers is that they want more reporting and intelligence from state capitals and regional power centers. So one of our most immediate tasks this winter will be to leverage the unique breadth of POLITICO’s reporting to tell the story of energy policymaking at the state and regional levels as only we can. We will take immediate steps to coordinate our state capital energy reporters in California, New York, Florida and New Jersey with the dozen-plus E&E News journalists across the country covering utilities, permitting, renewable energy and more – from Denver to St. Louis to Vermont – and, especially, in Texas. Stay tuned for more news on that front soon.

And if you haven’t seen our relaunched energy podcast, this is a great example of what we can accomplish with this united team. On Monday’s episode, Josh Siegel interviewed Senator Shelley Moore Capito; Today Hannah Northey spoke about critical mineral politics. Check it out.