Read more in this note from WNYC’s interim Editor-in-Chief Stephanie Clary, Day-of News Senior Editor David Giambusso, and “NYC Now” Senior Producer Jared Marcelle

We are very excited to announce that several new talented journalists are joining the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom this month.

Matthew Schnipper will be joining as our new culture editor, bringing nearly two decades of experience covering culture in multimedia newsrooms. His previous roles include editor-in-chief of The Fader, executive editor of Pitchfork, and senior director of global operations at Vice. He has written and edited stories about every aspect of culture and the arts, with a specialty in music. As a writer, his stories have appeared in New York Magazine, The New Yorker and The New York Times. His first book, “Rise Above,” a memoir, will be published by Random House in 2026. Matthew’s first day is Oct. 14.

Ryan Kost will be our newest reporter on the day-of desk. Ryan is a seasoned reporter with more than 15 years of experience. Previously, Ryan spent seven years at The San Francisco Chronicle where he wrote about the Bay Area’s arts and culture scene before shifting to ambitious narrative and enterprise features on topics including environmental policy, youth gender transition, and how the pandemic affected rural communities. Earlier in his career, he covered politics in the Pacific Northwest for The Associated Press and The Oregonian.

Most recently, he helped lead a multi-part series for New York Focus and Columbia Journalism Investigations on how New York prosecutors handle wrongful conviction claims. The investigation uncovered dozens of cases where district attorneys failed innocent people or ignored misconduct. His work also recently appeared in The Marshall Project. His first day is Oct. 7.

Iru Ekpunobi is the new assistant producer for our daily local news podcast, NYC Now. They will work closely with Jared Marcelle, Janae Pierre, and the newsroom’s beat desks to bring fresh stories and rich sound to each episode. They come to us from Marketplace, where they produced stories on a wide range of topics including Federal Reserve policy and the economics of community libraries. A proud alum of WNYU, Iru also trained in radio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, where they later served as a teaching assistant. Iru also produced award-winning narrative and daily news podcasts at ABC News. Their first day is Oct. 14.

Please join us in welcoming Matthew, Ryan and Iru to our newsroom!