Press Releases

02/27/2009

Oreskes, Daniszewski named to AP No. 2 editor jobs

The Associated Press on Friday promoted Mike Oreskes and John Daniszewski to the positions of senior managing editor to succeed Mike Silverman, who is retiring after 37 years at the news cooperative.

Silverman, the AP's second-ranking news executive since September 2000, will leave at the end of next month, shortly after he turns 65. The promotions of Oreskes and Daniszewski become effective April 1.

Dividing Silverman's duties between Oreskes and Daniszewski will ensure a smooth transition and preserve AP as a vital news source amid a media upheaval, said Kathleen Carroll, the AP's executive editor.

"Mike Silverman has been a standard bearer for speed, accuracy and quality journalism for every moment of his 37 years at the AP," Carroll said. "Those values are part of the AP's values and they won't leave us when he leaves us."

Oreskes, 54, joined the AP as a managing editor nine months ago after a long career as a news executive at The New York Times and the International Herald Tribune. He will oversee the daily news report from the AP's New York headquarters and continue to steer a shift that will eventually funnel more of the cooperative's U.S. news report through four regional editing desks.

Daniszewski, 55, who spent the first 16 years of his career with the AP, returned as international editor three years ago after a decade at the Los Angeles Times. He was named an AP managing editor in November 2007. Daniszewski will add oversight of the AP's photo department to his responsibilities overseeing the AP's international print news operations.

Carroll said Managing Editors Lou Ferrara and Kristin Gazlay will continue in their existing roles. Ferrara oversees the Sports, Entertainment and Multimedia news departments and Gazlay is responsible for the Business News department and all global training initiatives.

In another move, the AP promoted Kevin Roach from acting head to director of U.S. broadcast news, responsible for all radio, broadcast text, online video and television operations in the U.S. He will work with Sandy MacIntyre, director of AP television's international news operations in London.

The changes come at a time when many of the newspapers that own a piece of the AP are scrambling to cope with declines in advertising, their main source of revenue. Newspapers account for about a quarter of the AP's revenue, which exceeded $710 million last year, with the rest coming from broadcast and Internet customers as well as overseas sales.

The financial stress culminated in Friday's closure of the Rocky Mountain News in Denver and has prodded four owners of 33 U.S. daily newspapers to seek bankruptcy protection in the last 2½ months.

As part of their cost-cutting measure, some newspapers have served notice that they intend to sever their ties with the 163-year-old AP.

The dire conditions prompted the AP to lower its fees for newspapers by about $30 million this year. That concession, coupled with the effects of the faltering economy, is expected to force the AP to eliminate about 10 percent of its payroll expense later in the year. The cooperative imposed a hiring freeze late last year in an attempt to minimize possible layoffs.

"The AP remains a vibrant organization and I am confident it will survive the difficult times we are all facing in the media," Silverman said.

Oreskes echoed Silverman's confidence. "We are living through a time of extraordinary events — both in the world and in the news industry," he said. "No news organization is better positioned to cover the world and navigate those changes."