Jonathan Ellis Is Our Next Editor of The Upshot

Since its founding in 2014, The Upshot has produced some of The Times's most innovative and creative explanatory journalism, making complex issues in politics, policy and everyday life accessible and engaging for Times readers. It's a desk where you're just as likely to find a detailed look at DOGE's public ledger as you are to contemplate a piece of art for 10 minutes . So, following Kevin Quealy's departure, we sought a leader who could build on that momentum and guide The Upshot's next chapter.

That's why we're thrilled to announce that Jonathan Ellis is the next editor of The Upshot. He will guide the desk a s it continues to find new ways to combine rigorous reporting and data analysis with technology and new journalistic forms to help our readers understand the news.

Since joining The Upshot as a deputy editor in 2023, Jonathan has had his fingerprints visible on projects across the desk. He spearheaded much of The Upshot's coverage of DOGE's faulty accounting on the "wall of receipts." He developed the initial concept for Connections Bot , which brings delight to Connections players everywhere day in and day out. He was a lead editor on the cross-departmental team that published The Times's 2024 polling averages . And he's a superb editor whom reporters love to work with, handling stories on election polling , college admissions , congressional budgeting , research cuts , airline schedules , tariff math , Gen Z men , exhausted parents , game show strategy and, in something that should bring fear to woodworkers everywhere, how to avoid accidentally sawing off your finger .

Jonathan brings wide-ranging experience honed across the newsroom. As an editor on the Sports, Politics and Climate desks, he elevated visual and interactive storytelling, managed ambitious projects and live blogs, edited coverage of the 2020 election and the Tokyo and Beijing Olympics, and ran multiple major newsletters.

Earlier in his Times career, Jonathan led the newsroom's digital platforms team, back when journalism on a phone was a new concept. On his last night as chief web producer on the News Desk, he led live coverage of Osama bin Laden's killing. He has also launched a Snapchat channel, edited the home screen and worked on the 2008 campaign team.

Somewhere in there, he was the managing editor of Mashable from 2014 to 2016, overseeing a global newsroom with more than 100 journalists. (Thankfully, he later returned to The Times.) He also completed a master's degree in applied data science from the University of Michigan, and in a past life was editor of The Brown Daily Herald.

Please join us in congratulating Jonathan.

- Joe, Marc and Matt E.