Jackson Baker
Kyle Veazy moderated a political debate earlier this year.
Kyle Veazey, The Commercial Appeal’s lead political reporter, has left the paper for a job in the administration of Memphis Mayor-Elect Jim Strickland.
The paper broke the news Monday morning with a brief story noting that Veazey’s resignation was effective immediately and that his popular politics column, “First Word,” was suspended.
Veazey will join former WMC-TV anchor Ursula Madden in Strickland’s communication office.
Strickland defeated incumbent Mayor A C Wharton in this year’s election, in which Veazey covered for the paper.
Strickland’s transition team is set to give their recommendations to him during a public meeting Wednesday.
Strickland’s team is also set to announce a “significant staff announcement” today at 1 p.m. At Christian Brothers University. His team said the announcement is not about Veazey.
UPDATE:
Strickland was asked to comment on the perception that hiring Veazey raised questions about Veazey’s objectivity during the mayoral election.
Here’s what Strickland said:
“The only thing I could comment is…my wife, last night when I told her about this hire, she said, ‘Well I didn’t really like what (Veazey) wrote about you.’
“So, you know, I’ll let anybody come to their own conclusions about what they see. I thought all the media – print and TV – was fair during the campaign.”
