NEW YORK -- New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said Tuesday that with last month's buyouts and layoffs completed, the paper was in rebuilding mode. One of the "main coverage goals for the year," he said, is to build "a powerhouse political team."
The Times took a step in that direction Friday by hiring Maggie Haberman, one of Politico's star reporters.
Washington bureau chief Carolyn Ryan announced Haberman is joining as a presidential campaign correspondent and that she'd be "an integral player in what is shaping up to be an extraordinary 2016 campaign team at the Times."
"Maggie is a gifted, dynamic, insightful and high-impact reporter, with an unrelenting news energy and a stunningly deep and wide network of sources," Ryan wrote in a memo to staff. "She has a natural and unusual gift for breaking news and a deep intelligence and understanding of the rhythms and dynamics of political campaigns."
Ryan noted that Haberman "has deep ties to the Times," given that her father, Clyde Haberman, is a veteran of the newsroom. Maggie Haberman was born and raised in New York and had previously worked for the city's top tabloids, the New York Post and Daily News.
The Times has turned to Politico before when seeking talent on the political desk, hiring Jonathan Martin in May 2013 as the paper's chief political correspondent. The Times tried nabbing Haberman that year, too, but she remained at Politico.
The Times is also expected to hire former Politico senior political reporter Alex Burns. He recently left Politico and has been in talks with the Times about covering New York City and state politics. Haberman and Burns co-wrote a blog for Politico during the 2012 election.
Ryan said in a memo that more announcements regarding the Times' political coverage can be expected in the coming weeks.
Politico editor Susan Glasser and executive editor Peter Canellos praised Haberman in a staff memo of their own, obtained by The Huffington Post.
"Maggie has been a star reporter here for years, a leader of our campaign coverage -- and world leader on the Hillary beat -- and a relentless force for scoops and news at all hours of the day and night," they wrote. "On a day and at a time when we are welcoming so many terrific new colleagues to Politico, we’re sorry to see her go and wish her all the best."
Politico has endured significant churn in recent months, with Glasser taking the reins in September and a number of senior-level editors and reporters coming and going. Just hours before the Haberman news broke, Politico announced it had hired longtime press critic Jack Shafer.
Read Carolyn Ryan's memo:
I am so delighted to tell you that Maggie Haberman will be joining us as a presidential campaign correspondent for The New York Times. Maggie is a gifted, dynamic, insightful and high-impact reporter, with an unrelenting news energy and a stunningly deep and wide network of sources.
She has a natural and unusual gift for breaking news and a deep intelligence and understanding of the rhythms and dynamics of political campaigns.
Maggie will anchor our First Draft morning newsletter, bring analysis and insight to our web report, and help drive our campaign news during the day.
She is a key part of our strategy to cover the 2016 campaign across a broad spectrum of platforms, and provide real time narration and insight as the action unfolds.
Maggie is an integral player in what is shaping up to be an extraordinary 2016 campaign team at the Times. (More announcements to come on that in the coming days and weeks.)
Maggie has deep ties to the Times and, of course, to New York. Her father, Clyde Haberman, is a distinguished Timesman with a career that has ranged Sent from New York City Hall to Tokyo.
Maggie was born and raised in the city, graduated Fieldston High School and later Sarah Lawrence College. She worked at the New York Post and the New York Daily News before joining POLITICO, where she has been a senior political reporter.
Her journalism has focused on everything from New York courts to rebuilding at the World Trade Center site to national, state and local elections. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three children.
Please join me in congratulating Maggie. Her start date will be Feb. 15. Her email is [redacted].