The Economist’s G. Elliott Morris has been hired to be the editorial director of data analytics by ABC News, which also oversees FiveThirtyEight, according to Deadline.
What’s Happening:
- ABC News has hired G. Elliott Morris as the new editorial director of data analytics for the news division, which also oversees FiveThirtyEight.
- Morris comes from The Economist, where had been a senior data journalist and U.S. correspondent and was the lead developer of election forecasting models for U.S. and Foreign elections.
- He replaces Nate Silver, founder of FiveThirtyEight, who announced last month that he would be leaving the network.
- Morris starts in the position on June 26th, based in Washington, D.C., where he will launch “a full suite of poll-aggregation and election-forecasting models for U.S. elections to be used across broadcast, streaming and digital”, according to a memo from ABC News President Kim Godwin. He will report to Lulu Chiang, Vice President of ABC News Digital.
- You can read the full memo below:
- “I am pleased to share that G. Elliott Morris will be the editorial director of data analytics for ABC News, which includes FiveThirtyEight. Elliott starts on June 26 and will be based in Washington, D.C.
Elliott will lead our data journalism efforts for ABC News and FiveThirtyEight, including launching a full suite of poll-aggregation and election-forecasting models for U.S. elections to be used across broadcast, streaming and digital. Elliott and the FiveThirtyEight team will work closely with the politics unit and the decision desk to conduct original studies of polling data to deliver our audience information that goes beyond predicting voting choices to explore the intricate landscape of human emotions, motivations, and the fascinating web of influences that shape these results. Elliott will report to Lulu Chiang, vice president of ABC News Digital.
Elliott is an experienced data-driven journalist. He previously worked as a senior data journalist and U.S. correspondent for The Economist, covering American politics, public opinion polling, demographics and elections. He was the lead developer of The Economist’s election forecasting models for U.S. presidential and foreign elections. From 2020 to 2023, he wrote a data column for the paper’s weekly “Checks and Balance” newsletter on U.S. politics. Elliott is also the author of Strength in Numbers: How Polls Work and Why We Need Them. With Elliott leading the talented data journalism team at ABC News and FiveThirtyEight, I look forward to the robust analysis of this current election cycle and the evolution of polling data at ABC News. Please join me in congratulating Elliott and welcoming him to ABC News!”
What They’re Saying:
- G. Elliott Morris: “[FiveThirtyEight] has a really strong brand, not just with election wonks but the wider media ecosystem. It’s been around for 15 years. It’s what inspired me, in part, to be a data journalist, and I expect the core mission to stay basically the same.”