We’re halfway through 2020 and the coronavirus pandemic continues to dominate the retail news cycle. While it’s unclear how much permanent damage has been inflicted, current media headlines affirm that the effects of the pandemic could be long-lasting and have perpetual impacts on customer behavior and the retail sector as we know it.
Through ongoing conversations and our monthly retail reporter Q&A (latest edition here), we continue to hear from journalists that COVID-19 has only made the retail beat busier because of the profound hit the industry has taken as a result of the shutdowns. Outside of the pandemic, important conversations on issues of race and fairness have put a spotlight on improving diversity in fashion and prompted brands to take tangible action in support of equal rights and the Black Lives Matter movement. From store closures and bankruptcies, to ways retailers are addressing racial inequality, to shifting consumer habits and brand loyalty, there is no shortage of topics for the media to cover.
These events have also reshaped newsrooms. The economic slump and decrease in advertising revenue have prompted several notable outlets to make reductions in their editorial staff, institute pay cuts, or realign current resources to cover more areas of business impacted by the pandemic. Questions about race and reporting have resulted in several resignations by top editors and other structural changes to ensure more diverse voices are heard in the media.
Against that backdrop, here is a quick overview of reporter changes seen across the retail media space in Q2:
Anjali Robins
Anjali Robins joined the CNN Business staff as the first ever consumer, food, and retail editor. Before this new role, she was a news editor at CNBC.com
Ann-Marie Alcantara
The Wall Street Journal signed on Ann-Marie Alcantara as a reporter for The Experience Report, which delivers news and analysis on the ways that companies optimize data, technology and design to communicate with customers. She was previously a retail reporter at Adweek, covering the rise of direct-to-consumer brands and e-commerce.
Anne Riley Moffat
The Bloomberg editor and consumer team leader was welcomed back to the publication on June 1, after being on maternity leave for 24 weeks. She tweeted that she is still leading a team of reporters covering all things edible, wearable and purchasable, and to send tips her way at ariley17@bloomberg.net.
Cale Weissman
Modern Retail promoted Cale Weissman to editor. He was previously senior reporter for the publication and contributed to Digiday. Prior to that, Weissman worked as an associate news editor at Fast Company and a reporter for Business Insider.
Deirdre Bolton
Good Morning America and the ABC News family welcomed former Fox Business News reporter Deirdre Bolton as a business correspondent covering COVID-19’s great economic impact. Deirdre is active and responsive to tips on her Twitter account.
Gloria Dawson
Gloria Dawson joined Business Insider as senior editor to oversee its retail coverage. She was previously senior editor at Nation’s Restaurant News, where she wrote and edited breaking news and feature stories.
Jason Schreier
Bloomberg welcomed Jason Schreier as its newest tech reporter covering video games, business, culture, labor, delays and other aspects related to the gaming world. previously wrote for Kotaku, a video game website, and Wired.
Julee Wilson
Julee Wilson joined the Cosmopolitan staff as beauty editor and is responsible for driving beauty content across all print, digital and social platforms. She was previously global beauty director at Essence and prior to that, held various editorial positions at HuffPost and Real Simple.
Karen Ho
Karen Ho was named the global finance and economics reporter at Quartz. She was a freelance business and culture reporter for eight years; contributing to FiveThirtyEight, TIME, GQ, Refinery29 and more.
Katie Deighton
Kate Deighton signed on as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, contributing to The Experience Report. She previously covered the creative industry for The Drum.
Katie Richards
In late April, the well-known Glossy reporter tweeted that she was leaving her role at the fashion publication to start a new career path at Citi.
Kelly Bourdet
Leaving her position as editor in chief of Gizmodo, Kelly Bourdet joined CNN Business as the assistant managing editor for the Beat Teams, overseeing coverage from the tech, media, transportation, and consumer sections.
Kim Davis
After DMN closed its doors, Kim Davis rejoined the MarTech space as editorial director of MarTech Today.
Monique Valeris
Monique Valeris became the new senior home editor for Good Housekeeping after two years as the home decor editor for ElleDecor.com and Veranda.com. She has contributed to Vogue.com and Popsugar as a lifestyle freelancer.
Samira Nasr
Harper’s BAZAAR appointed Samira Nasr to lead as editor in chief – overseeing the publication’s U.S. edition. She was most recently Vanity Fair’s executive fashion director, where she directed the magazine’s fashion department and all fashion content.
Sarah Shannon
Conde Nast announced the appointment of Sarah Shannon as Editorial Director of Vogue Business, where she will oversee the editorial teams based in London and around the world to deliver the news of global market forces and industry trends for fashion industry professionals. She spent over eight years at Bloomberg News in London as senior retail reporter.
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