Executive Action At NPR

• NPR announced the hire of Megan Pratz as its new Political Editor, with a start date of Aug. 22. The news was shared in a staff memo from Krishnadev Calamur, Chief Washington Editor, who said, “Megan (left) joins us after nearly four years with Cheddar News, where she ran the Washington, D.C., bureau for the streaming news network. Prior to Cheddar, she produced live programs for PBS, Al Jazeera America and other networks, with a specialty in talk shows and interviews.” Pratz is a graduate of the University of Maryland, where she studied broadcast journalism and psychology.

Calamur continued, “Megan will take the lead on our coverage of voters and elections, working with our political reporters as they travel the country digging into what’s driving Americans’ political behavior, as well as reporting on candidates and campaigns. Megan will also work with member station political reporters who are covering congressional and presidential politics in their own backyards. We want to thank Ben Swasey, who has carried this mantle in the interim while also taking on his critical new role leading our voting team.”

And there’s more: Calamur also announced that longtime NPR Congressional Correspondent Sue Davis has been upped to NPR Political Correspondent, while Deirdre Walsh, who has served as acting Congressional Correspondent for several months, has been elevated to “official.”