Media: Replacing The NYT's National Education Writer
It's not yet clear if and when Sam Dillon will be formally replaced, or even whether an external search will be conducted... but let's speculate anyway.
In recent times, the paper has made do with various internal names -- Trip Gabriel, Alan Shwarz -- and regional coverage. Fernanda Santos has done a lot of work covering NYC schools, Jenny Anderson has been on the private schools / cheating beat, and Winnie Hu has been on the state beat.
A national education reporter spot rarely comes open for an outside search (WSJ Banchero is the most recent I can think of), and those that do come open aren't necessarily replaced by anyone in particular (think Associated Press) or are filled internally (think WP's Layton).
It's hard to think of anyone outside the paper who might want or be considered ready for the job. The Nation's Dana Goldstein is more of a magazine writer and might be considered too voice-y for a traditional spot in a traditional newsroom. GothamSchools' Elizabeth Green has that great NYT Sunday Magazine story but doesn't have a ton of news clips over the past couple of years and would have to extricate herself from the online site she co-founded. Other names to consider? Hechinger's Sarah Garland. TIME's Amanda Ripley. I'm sure I'm missing someone.
Previous posts: The Dillon Era (& What Happens Next)
Amanda Ripley is openly partisan, so that would be quite a statement by the NYT. Ripley's current blog project is an effort to "gotcha!" Diane Ravitch in whatever way she can come up with.
Posted by: CarolineSF | January 09, 2012 at 21:53 PM
a couple folks have written in to remind me that AP now has kimberly hefling covering national education issues out of DC
Posted by: Alexander Russo | January 10, 2012 at 13:39 PM