Posted in Announcements

Ricardo Zuniga named global sports editor

, by Nicole Meir

In a memo to staff, Executive Editor Julie Pace, Vice President and Head of Global News Gathering Paul Haven, and Deputy Head of News Gathering Michael Giarrusso announced a key appointment:

We are excited to announce our next global sports editor: Ricardo Zuniga, who rejoins the AP from ESPN, where he serves as deputy director for the Americas. Ricardo brings a unique set of experiences to this key leadership role, having worked both at AP Sports and at our biggest sports customer. During his four years at ESPN, Ricardo has tackled everything from breaking news to big events to long-form video that appeals to global audiences of dedicated fans and non-sports followers alike. He understands metrics and how the biggest sports stories are often outside of the field of play, crossing over with politics, entertainment, race and culture. We are eager for him to bring that experience back to AP leading this important team.
Ricardo Zuniga, global sports editor. (AP Photo)
Before joining ESPN, Ricardo spent 20 years at AP in Latin America and in the United States, where he led our Spanish and Latin American sports coverage. He was a key presence at World Cups and Olympics, and he led our collaboration with news teams in Latin America. He’s a creative and engaging news leader who believes deeply in AP’s ability to set the news agenda, in sports and beyond. This is a particularly exciting moment for AP Sports, a coverage area that is central to our digital transition and our increased focus on audience development, both for our customers and on our own platforms. There are few AP brands more prominent than Sports, and we are eager for Ricardo and the team to build on the success we have already had in innovation and digital presentation. Please join us in welcoming Ricardo back to the AP family. He starts on May 2. Thank you, Julie, Paul and Michael