Bloomberg News executive editor Susan Goldberg told staff Thursday in an email that she is leaving the company to become executive editor at National Geographic.
Goldberg had previously overseen coverage of federal, state and local government out of Washington.
She came to Bloomberg in 2010 with an extensive newspaper background. She previously editor of Cleveland's The Plain Dealer, executive editor of the San Jose Mercury News, deputy managing editor of USA Today. Goldberg also worked for the Detroit Free Press and now-shuttered Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Goldberg's departure isn't completely unexpected, as it follows a management shuffle in September. Laurie Hays, a senior executive editor at Bloomberg L.P., expanded her role at the company into coverage of economics and Washington. As a result, Goldberg would report to Hays, who reports to top editor Matt Winkler.
Last month, Washington managing editor Mike Tackett left for the New York Times.
Goldberg did not respond to requests Thursday morning. A Bloomberg spokesperson referred this reporter to a memo from Hays and executive editor Cesca Antonelli.
Goldberg's memo to staff and the Hays/ Antonelli memo are below:
Dear friends and colleagues,
I have decided to leave Bloomberg News to become an executive editor at National Geographic, based in Washington. Today is my last day at Bloomberg.
I will very much miss working with you all. It has been a great privilege to be around so many smart, talented, hard-working and dedicated people, who produce so much exceptional journalism -- whether it's a breaking story that beats the competition by a less than a second (or by hours), a scoop that sets the day's agenda or a multi-part project that exposes wrongdoing and waste nationwide. I have learned a great deal, and I appreciate all the opportunities I've had here.
I'm excited about staying in the news business and about doing something quite different after 35 years of daily journalism. And I love the idea of giving back at a non-profit where I'll work with writers worldwide on longform stories for the magazine and breaking news for the web, on issues that mean a lot to me: cultural diversity, the environment, climate change and species preservation, among others.
I'm not sure of my new work email yet (I don't start until Jan. 6), but my personal email is [redacted]. I hope we will stay in touch.
Many thanks to you all,
Susan
Colleagues,
We thank Susan Goldberg for the hard work, commitment and energy that she put into running state and local coverage and Washington. Because of Susan, Bloomberg's coverage of natural disasters and events including the Boston Marathon bombings, the Newtown shooting and Hurricane Sandy was exceptional, as were our budget and debt ceiling coverage and regulatory stories on the explosion of a chemical plant in West, Texas.
We wish her the best of luck in her new endeavors as an executive editor at National Geographic.
Cesca will immediately assume the duties of acting executive editor for the Washington, state and local teams. With your help, we will find the best leader possible for our mission-critical government coverage. We are excited about the endless possibilities for all our different platforms and are counting on you to make it happen.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Laurie and Cesca
(This post was updated with the full staff memos)