> Update: 4:14pm: “Any word on who is replacing her here in Chicago?,” an e-mailer asks…
CNN’s Midwest bureau chief Edith Chapin is coming home to New York, staffers learned today. Chapin, the longtime deputy NY bureau chief, spent the last year in Chicago overseeing coverage in the Midwest.
“In her role directing work originating from our Chicago, Dallas and Denver bureaus, Edith demonstrated time and again the leadership ability that generated some of the best news coverage in the industry,” Jack Womack wrote in a memo.
Chapin will begin as NY bureau chief on Monday, August 29. A cheer went up in the newsroom when she was on speakerphone this afternoon, an insider says.
> Update: 2:54pm: “While I’ve enjoyed covering and developing reports from the Midwest for CNN, I’m excited about working in New York City again,” Chapin said in the press release. “Few things compare with the energy and thrill of directing news coverage from one of the most news-oriented cities in the world.”
The full memo is after the jump…
> Chapin replaces Karen Curry, who departed in June after six years as bureau chief. She had the additional title of vice president, and wrote in her goodbye that “there is less of a need for that former role” since the top executive structure of the network is now in Manhattan…
Memo:
To: CNN Staff
From: Jack Womack
I’m pleased to announce the appointment of Edith Chapin, our current Midwest bureau chief, as New York bureau chief. She will join the New York bureau on Monday, August 29.
When we restructured our bureau system last year, Edith was an obvious choice to oversee coverage in one of the four main regions. In her role directing work originating from our Chicago, Dallas and Denver bureaus, Edith demonstrated time and again the leadership ability that generated some of the best news coverage in the industry. The past six months alone bring to mind CNN’s coverage of the BTK Killer case, the school shooting at the reservation in Minnesota and the Oklahoma City bombing anniversary.
The move to New York is a homecoming for Edith. She served as the deputy bureau chief and managing editor there for several years, most notably helping with the coordination of our coverage of the September 11 attacks and aftermath.
I know you will join me in congratulating Edith on her new role.
Jack