I am incredibly pleased to announce the promotions of a few of our colleagues. For those of you who work with these individuals, this news will come as no surprise. They are not only talented, hard-working and creative at their craft; they are also collegial and supportive.
It’s a delight to work with Claire Gordon. She makes it all look easy. Despite taking on a huge amount of work, from heavier postproduction in audio to an entirely new video endeavor, Claire is always calm, cool and collected. In recognition of her stewardship of “The Ezra Klein Show” over the past year and half, she is being promoted to executive producer of that show. Claire joined Times Opinion in Oct 2023 and immediately provided editorial leadership and stability in that high-intensity news moment. She’s continued to bring that energy and vision during the relentless 2024 election news cycle, taking “The Ezra Klein Show” to a whole new level with her video strategy and helping hone the audio essay format. Claire quickly became the show’s engine, pushing it to be the most ambitious version of itself. (And she has even gotten behind the mic a few times to interview the host.) We all look forward to seeing where she and the team take the show next.
Alex March joined Opinion in 2018 to work on newsletters, but she quickly became a valued contributor to numerous aspects of audience work. With strategic thinking and creativity, she has worked to grow and deepen the engagement of Opinion Today and has helped initiate pop-up newsletters like Offsides and The Privacy Project. Alex has always had a sharp eye for audience opportunities; she helped start our Instagram and TikTok accounts and grew our push alert and targeted email efforts. She has planned for tentpole news events and has run point on audience plans for major swings for the department — from At the Brink to “How My Dad Reconciled His God and His Gay Son” — innovating with product, design and video. Alex has contributed to the report through the miscarriage project and personal essays and by working to bring new voices into the fold. In recognition of her leadership, management responsibilities and thoughtful approach to the work, she will be expanding her role as deputy director of Audience, continuing to work closely with Liriel Higa and leadership.
On the design team, Shoshana Schultz has been promoted to senior staff editor. Since joining The Times in 2021, Shoshana has proved herself to be a versatile and valuable colleague, making noteworthy contributions to our print and digital success. Her broad range of art direction brings vivid clarity, quirky metaphors and just the right extraterrestrial nod. As a lead digital designer, she pioneers innovative storytelling, creates visual identities for our signature pieces and sharpens the intent and impact of our journalism. She is a colleague who takes equal pride in both small and large efforts, working through the finest details of a promotional image to the most complex editorial series — always with a patient, generous, collegial spirit. In her new role, Shoshana will partner closely with Graphics and Video teams to design immersive interactives and lead development of cohesive visual systems for audio and video projects and platforms. She will also continue to collaborate with visual teams and editors to elevate our Opinion franchise and enterprise ambitions.
Meher Ahmad’s experience before coming to Opinion spanned documentary production, international reporting, personal essays, audio journalism and more. It’s that variety of skills that she’s poured into her work since joining the department in the summer of 2023. Meher has helped us pioneer different story forms for our journalism, whether it’s bringing the experience of being homeless in America to our readers in a fully immersive and fully personal form or capturing stories from the front lines of abortion access in this country after the Dobbs decision. And even while working under extreme pressure, to work with Meher is to have fun and to feel supported and respected. It is for all this and more that I am delighted to share that we are promoting her to senior staff editor in Special Projects.
Over the past five years, Emily Holzknecht’s endless dedication and growing skills have done more than just support Opinion Video’s most ambitious journalism; she has made it more creative and effective. Do you know how many phone calls it takes to get permission to film inside a jail so Opinion Video can make an argument about criminal justice reform? Emily does (about 40). Do you remember the Emmy-winning video that featured nearly 50 portraits of murdered Afghan American allies printed on wood blocks, hung from chains in our video studio? Emily made those. The anonymous woman speaking out about her medication abortion told through stop-motion yarn animation that dropped the moment Roe v. Wade was overturned? That was Emily, too. She has been instrumental to the success of the team’s day-to-day operations, and her work has touched all corners of the desk. And now Emily is being promoted to video producer. She will be focusing on interactive video journalism and will play a key role in how video collaborates with special projects and others, as well as contributing to the linear and vertical operations.
Thank you, all, for your hard work and congratulations on this well-deserved recognition. Cheers!
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