Reuters names two multi-media 'mega-theme' editors

“We usually do a good job of passing the baton around the globe, handing off story ownership as we follow the sun from region to region,” editor-in-chief Stephen Adler wrote in a note to staff. “That said, there are a few ‘mega-themes’ of overriding importance that require more or less constant leadership, cutting across regions, taking coverage beyond the breaking news of the day, and probing more deeply with original angles to shed new light. We’d like to approach these few mega-themes in multi-media fashion - text, video, pictures, graphics - and in a way that establishes Reuters as the leading journalistic authority on the topic.

“To do this, without adding additional staff or extra layers of bureaucracy, we’d like to designate individual editors to be global story coordinators for a few selected topics.”

The first two global coordinators are Tiffany Wu (photo), whose job title is top news editor, Americas, and Alessandra Galloni, editor, southern Europe and enterprise editor at large.

Wu, born and raised in Hong Kong where she joined Reuters in 1998 and now based in New York, will oversee coverage of cyber-security. Galloni, who joined Reuters in 2013 after 12 years with The Wall Street Journal, will supervise the global growth crisis.

They will not manage breaking news coverage on their respective topics, Adler said. Instead they will consult with colleagues to develop original coverage themes and story ideas.

“In this capacity, they will work directly with managing editor Paul Ingrassia to assign responsibility for producing the stories. Story assignments will be made in ways that won’t interfere with critical daily news coverage.”

Adler said Wu and Galloni would continue to report to their current supervisors, Americas editor Dayan Candappa and Europe, Middle East and Africa editor Richard Mably, respectively. But working under Ingrassia in their global coordinator roles will allow them to operate more smoothly across regional lines, he said. ■