Politico Improves Diversity With New Black Editor

Joseph Williams, formerly deputy bureau chief of the Boston Globe's Washington Bureau, will become Politico's deputy White House editor, arriving Wednesday, the website and print newspaper told staff members on Monday.

He will be Politico's first African American originating editor. Another black journalist, Michael Schwartz, is director of photography.

Williams arrives as Politico expands its staff and tries to shake a reputation for lacking racial diversity. In April, the Washington Post hired away Nia-Malika Henderson, Politico's only African American reporter. Later that month, Politico announced "lots of exciting staff moves," including the hiring of a black reporter who works on the Harvard Crimson, former Politico intern Abby D. Phillip.

Politico recently announced it will select three one-year reporting fellows "from a diverse pool of applicants interested in working as Washington-based journalists covering national politics."

Williams spent five years as deputy bureau chief for the Globe.

"He edited breaking national political news, assigned, wrote and edited political enterprise stories, and covered the Obama administration's urban affairs agenda," the announcement said. "Before then, Williams was the deputy managing editor for local news at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. A 1996 Nieman fellow, he began his career at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and worked in Miami and Boston. A 1984 University of Richmond graduate, Williams misspent his youth playing for losing football teams in high school and college. He is an Air Force brat who grew up on military bases in California, Washington state and D.C., and in Athens, Greece."

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