The 19th Taps Julia B. Chan as New Editor-in-Chief

The 19th has hired Julia B. Chan as its new editor-in-chief, effective Jan. 10..

Why it matters: Chan’s hiring comes as The 19th looks to establish itself beyond Washington. She fills the editor-in-chief role left vacant by Andrea Valdez, who left the company for The Atlantic in May.

Details: In her new role, Chan will be responsible for making The 19th’s coverage of politics and policy issues that impact women and the LGBTQ+ community more accessible to a broader audience.

• “We want to extend ourselves beyond political insiders,” said Amanda Zamora, co-founder and publisher of The 19th. The company is headquartered in Austin and covers policy news across different states, as well as national stories.
• Chan was previously the managing editor of digital at KQED, a public broadcaster in San Francisco. She also served as the director of audience at Mother Jones, digital editor at Reveal for the Center for Investigative Reporting, and web editor at the San Francisco Examiner.
• “I think that Julia brings a really nuanced approach to storytelling and is going to help us develop even further a sense of intersectionality in our reporting,” said Zamora.

The big picture: The nonprofit news firm, which covers the intersection of gender, politics and policy, has grown to roughly 40 full-time employees, up from 21 in January. The company says over 40,000 people are signed up to receive its free newsletters.

What’s next: Heading into 2022, Zamora said the company aims to double down on building community with its readers, which will hopefully include returning to in-person events. The 19th plans to hire a chief technology officer to round out its C-suite in the coming weeks.