In the Mail📮
Don't call it "personal news" when it's ~professional~.
Monday I begin a new job as U.S. deputy executive editor of politics at The Daily Mail, the British tabloid known for its fist-throwing headlines, celebrity dish and flourishing digital presence in the USofA. 🇺🇸
As I wrote last week, the decision to take the leap ended up being quite an easy one. It’s my first formal leadership position that will allow me to help shape a Washington team and its coverage of Trump 2.0, Capitol Hill and the cavalry of Democrats attempting to crawl back into power. The opportunity to work at a foreign brand was enticing as was the chance to swashbuckle at a tabloid that throws punches, rather than equivocates about pulling them. (Like it or not, The Mail permeates culture; my former employer was watching it float by.) I was enticed by the size of the audience (the 6th largest news website in the world, 10th in the U.S.), and immediately felt good vibes in the conversations with my superiors, Kelly and Katie, who hired me. No change — professional or personal — is devoid of risk, but growing up in proximity to Atlantic City taught me that sometimes the gamble is the point. As long as you don’t stay too long when you begin to lose, ofc. While there’s plenty to fret about in media, one undervalued beauty of working in the industry is perpetual impermanence.
This career switch will mean some changes at Too Close To Call that I want to be transparent about. In the past, I used this Substack to promote my work at McClatchy. I will continue to write on Substack, but mostly venturing into non-political topics that will not compete with The Mail. As a manager, I see one of my primary roles as helping enhance and elevate the work of those I’m editing when I can. In that vein, I intend to promote the work of my new colleagues in The Mail’s Washington bureau here. I will also attempt a regular publishing schedule, posting once a week, either Saturday or Sunday, depending on the topic and time allotted to me beforehand.
If you’ve been here since the beginning of 2022, you know that I’ve used this Substack often to color outside the lines of traditional political writing. Whether it be chronicling the laborious wait in line at the White House Correspondents Association dinner, reflecting on a transcendent electronic music experience in Los Angeles or retelling my encounter of being swindled by the casanovas of Istanbul, I’ve always strived to keep it honest, unconventional and interesting. That’ll continue to be my guiding light here as I embark on a new professional journey. I hope you’ll stay along with me for the ride. 🎢