US assistant news directors are named

The AP’s ability to execute a fast, ambitious, tenacious and all-formats news report in the U.S. requires a dynamic and talented team of newsroom leaders, video journalists, photographers and reporters. We are naming four new assistant news directors today, in what will be the first of many exciting job announcements in 2023 as we bolster our journalistic firepower around the U.S. The Assistant News Director role is vital leadership position that is truly the engine behind our breaking news prowess across the 50-state footprint. These leaders will oversee reporters, video journalists and photographers in their states, driving the coverage in all formats and allowing us to own every big story in a way that no other news organization can match.

Adam Kealoha Causey, in Dallas, is the assistant news director for Texas and Oklahoma. Adam is a terrific leader who has led the coverage of too many big stories to count in his time in Texas as news editor, including the mass killings in Uvalde this year and in El Paso in 2019, subfreezing temperatures that collapsed the Texas power grid and a novel abortion law that virtually ended the procedure. Before becoming news editor, he was administrative correspondent in Oklahoma City and West Desk editor in Phoenix. Adam is a proud member of AAJA and NLGJA, where he has become a trusted mentor to many colleagues over the years. Adam will remain based in Dallas.

Gillian Flaccus, in Portland, Oregon, is the assistant news director for the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii). You will be hard-pressed to find a journalist at the AP who is more tenacious, beloved by her colleagues and versatile in the various formats than Gillian. She has worked in Portland, Los Angeles and Orange County in her 22 years at AP, covering major stories including Hurricane Katrina, mass shootings in Arizona, Colorado and California and protests in Portland. She was part of the first class of AP reporters trained in video and for more than a decade has used those skills repeatedly on spot news and enterprise. She was part of AP’s Future Leaders program in 2015 and been a mentor to many colleagues.

Amy Forliti, in Minneapolis, is the assistant news director for the Midwest (Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri). Amy is also a veteran AP reporter who is revered by her colleagues around the country for both her reporting acumen and being the ultimate team-first co-worker who jumps in on any story. Forliti joined the AP in 1999 in Indianapolis, then became supervisory correspondent in Rhode Island, where she led coverage of one of the deadliest fires in recent U.S. history -- the Station nightclub blaze that killed 100 people. As a reporter in Minneapolis, Amy has been an integral part of AP’s coverage of the George Floyd killing and resulting protests. She helped break the news that four Minneapolis police officers had been charged in Floyd’s death was lead reporter on the trial of Derek Chauvin, the officer convicted in Floyd’s murder.

Roger Schneider, in Chicago, is the assistant news director for the Great Lakes (Illinois, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin). Roger has been a news editor since 2005 and knows this territory better than anyone at the AP, having worked in Milwaukee, Detroit and Chicago. Roger is a veteran journalist who has led coverage of everything from Detroit’s historic bankruptcy and the Flint water crisis to the failed plot to kidnap the Michigan governor and the July Fourth parade shooting in his hometown of Highland Park, Illinois. In a testament to Roger’s willingness to plunge into the big story, he abandoned his vacation during the Highland Park shooting and rushed to the scene, going live on Bambuser on his iPhone, before shifting into the role of editor in directing the coverage. Please join me in congratulating Adam, Gillian, Amy and Roger. Josh