AUSTIN, Texas – Feb. 29, 2016 – Four reporters, three of whom started as interns at KUT, have joined the KUT News team, while two longtime reporters have earned promotions.
Syeda Hasan, Ashely Lopez, Audrey McGlinchy and Andrew Weber have joined KUT News, while longtime reporters Matt Largey and Ben Philpott have been promoted to managing editor and senior editor respectively.
Syeda Hasan joins the station as general assignment reporter. She previously worked as a reporter at Houston Public Media, covering county government, immigrant and refugee communities, homelessness and the Sandra Bland case. Her work has been heard nationally on public radio shows such as “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “Marketplace.” She got her start in public radio as an intern at KUT News while earning her bachelor’s degree in journalism, with a minor in French, at The University of Texas at Austin.
Award-winning journalist Ashley Lopez has joined KUT News as a senior reporter covering politics and health care. She is part of NPR’s Political Reporting Partnership, along with Philpott. Previously she worked as a political reporter at public radio station WFPL in Louisville, Ky, where she won a National Edward R. Murrow Award for a story about an immigration policy that was failing some undocumented domestic abuse victims. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Audrey McGlinchy, who has worked as an intern, producer and general assignment reporter for KUT, has been named city hall reporter. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English from Wesleyan University and a master’s in journalism from the City University of New York. Prior to reporting, she worked in education, publishing and the world of Brooklyn nannies.
Andrew Weber has been hired full-time as online reporter and producer. A graduate of St. Edward’s University with a bachelor’s degree in English, Andrew began working with KUT News as an intern and freelancer. He also has interned with “The Texas Tribune,” “The Austin American-Statesman” and KOOP Radio.
After doing the job on an interim basis for two years, Largey has formally been named managing editor overseeing the KUT Newsroom. This includes editing, planning long-term coverage, supervising reporters and linking beat reports into a larger narrative that tells a bigger picture story of life in Austin. Largey joined KUT News as a reporter in 2006, later serving as an editor and correspondent. He has won several journalism awards, including one individual and two team-based National Edward R. Murrow awards. Previously he worked at public radio station WBUR Boston.
As senior editor, Philpott will help assign and edit stories, help supervise reporters, oversee the KUT News intern program and continue to co-host The Ticket 2016 through the presidential election. He also will manage KUT’s content partnerships. He has covered state politics and other topics since joining KUT News in 2002. He has been recognized for outstanding journalism from numerous organizations and has been named Radio Journalist of the Year by the Houston Press club four times.
About KUT
KUT 90.5, Austin's NPR station, delivers in-depth stories by and about people in Austin, for Austin, with the highest journalistic standards from a variety of thoughtful perspectives. A founding member of NPR, KUT News has won more than 200 state, national and international awards for journalistic excellence. “Texas Standard,” KUT’s one-hour daily news program heard on 23 public radio stations across the state, offers crisp, up-to-the-moment coverage of politics, lifestyle, the environment, technology, innovation and business — from a Texas perspective.
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Contact: Erin Geisler (512) 475-8071