The Definitive SourceAnnouncements

Amanda Barrett named AP deputy managing editor

Executive Editor Sally Buzbee and Managing Editor Brian Carovillano announced a key appointment on Friday, sending this memo to staff:

It is our great pleasure to let you know that Amanda Barrett will take on, beginning immediately, the role of deputy managing editor in News and will join News’ senior leadership team. This new title, and the additional responsibilities she will take on, mark Amanda’s increasing leadership role across our department, globally, and across our entire company over the last year.

AP Deputy Managing Editor Amanda Barrett. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

In her expanded role, Amanda will continue to lead the Nerve Center, AP’s hub for global news coordination, research, customer communication and audience engagement. 

She will also take on new responsibilities overseeing newsroom talent development, meaning she will help lead our efforts across both International and the U.S. to create career paths to help retain talented staff and to create a more diverse team. She will also work with news leaders around the globe to drive more inclusive storytelling in our journalism.

Amanda joined AP in 2007 from Newsday, where she led a team of interactive journalists and managed the websites of the Long Island, New York, newspaper.  In her first years at AP, she worked in the Interactives department. In 2009, she became the founding regional deputy editor for the East region in the United States, helping to establish the new regional desk in Philadelphia and lead our coverage of 10 northeastern U.S. states.

She then served as New York City news editor, where she directed AP’s award-winning coverage of Hurricane Sandy and its aftermath. In 2015, she moved to the Nerve Center as planning and administration manager. She assumed leadership of the Nerve Center in 2017 and was the editorial lead on the team that developed AP Playbook, the multiformat planning tool that aims to revolutionize the way we communicate with customers.

Amanda also serves as a leader of AP’s race and ethnicity beat team. Over her career, she has also worked as a sports editor at the Orlando Sentinel and at the Roanoke Times in her hometown of Roanoke, Virginia.

One of the things that truly sets Amanda apart is the relationships she has built across AP and throughout the industry. Countless journalists have benefited from her mentoring and career advice and she has worked hard to extend her network to our international staff in recent years.

That, along with her strong news judgment, tremendous work ethic and innovative spirit, is what makes Amanda such an essential leader in this company. We hope you’ll join us in congratulating her on the well-deserved promotion.

Sally and Brian

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