Scoop: Philadelphia Inquirer politics reporter heading to Time
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Julia Terruso, the Philadelphia Inquirer's national politics reporter, is leaving the paper after 13 years to become Time magazine's senior national political correspondent, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: Terruso's departure leaves a gap on the Inquirer's politics team and complicates leadership at the newspaper's union, the NewsGuild, where she was recently elected president ahead of upcoming contract talks.
Driving the news: Terruso starts at Time on Jan. 20 and will remain based in Philadelphia.
- "She is a stellar reporter and writer with deep and varied experience covering national and local campaigns, the White House and Congress, city hall and regional policy issues," Time executive editor Alex Altman told staff in an internal memo obtained by Axios.
Catch up quick: Terruso was key in shaping the Inquirer's coverage of the 2024 presidential race, traveling across the battleground state to highlight the dynamics influencing Pennsylvanians' voting habits.
- She was part of the team that won the 2024 Toner Prize for Excellence in Local Political Reporting from Syracuse University's Newhouse School, for the newspaper's coverage of Cherelle Parker's historic election as Philadelphia's first woman mayor.
Zoom in: Terruso graduated from SU in 2011 and cut her teeth at the student newspaper, the Daily Orange. She worked as a reporter at the Post-Standard and the Star-Ledger in New Jersey before joining the Inquirer in 2013, covering City Hall and Camden.
- She took over the Inquirer's national politics beat from Jonathan Tamari, who left in 2023 to become a congressional reporter for Bloomberg Government.
What they're saying: In a letter to NewsGuild members obtained by Axios, Terruso wrote the offer from Time was "unexpected," and she apologized for the "disruption" to the union's leadership.
- "The Guild is not one person," she wrote. "And the slate you elected ran on a promise that each member would be an active, visible leader."
What's ahead: Max Marin, an Inquirer investigative reporter and vice president elected on Terruso's slate, will serve as interim union president.
- Members will decide Jan. 28 whether to make him permanent or hold another election.
