Julie Bloom, Melissa Hoppert and Adrienne Carter of The New York Times announced the breaking news hub in London and the appointment of Shashank Bengali in the following note:
The New York Times’s London newsroom plays a critical role in our around-the-clock news operation, and Express and Live are at the center of the action.
The London Express team has helped lead the way in covering a litany of major storms and a global tech meltdown while delivering the delightful, viral stories that are its hallmark. The London Live team has been at the forefront of our real-time coverage of turmoil in the Middle East, pivotal elections in Europe, campus protests in the United States and so many other big stories.
To build on the success of these two accomplished teams, which work collaboratively with International and other desks in our fast-growing London operation, we are excited to announce that Express and Live will be forming a new partnership as we create a breaking news hub in London.
Modeled on the similar hub in Seoul, the Express-Live collaboration in London will create a pool of nearly a dozen editors and reporters who can tackle any story, giving both teams more resources to do what they do best and jump in to assist International when global stories break. The hub will add even more firepower to Express, especially on weekends, helping that talented desk further its mission to enchant readers — as it has recently with hit tales about a beloved penguin and a slain sycamore tree — and draw new ones to The Times. It will pull more skilled reporters and editors into our live coverage to help it remain a must-read on the world’s biggest breaking stories, seven days a week. And it will be a strong ally to all the desks in London, working with them to ensure we are fast on the news and savvy about our audience while maintaining the highest Times standards.
As The Times pushes to gain more global readers, the London breaking news hub will work with International to identify coverage opportunities in Europe — where we are increasingly competitive with local publishers — as well as the Middle East and Africa, in addition to jumping on developments happening late in Asia and early in the U.S.
While we search for a second Express editor in London, we are pleased to announce that Shashank Bengali will take on the new role of deputy editor for the London breaking news hub. He will supervise both teams in London and report jointly to the editors of Live and Express in New York.
Shashank is the perfect fit for this position. He has reported from more than 60 countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, including numerous stints covering the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. At The Times, he has expertly guided our live coverage — including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza — and has time and again demonstrated his ability to work collaboratively with colleagues from all parts of the newsroom, especially International, which trusts him implicitly with their biggest story lines.
Please congratulate Shashank and the fantastic team of editors and reporters who are taking on this new challenge.
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