Wired News Appoints George Shirk as Editor in Chief

Posted on December 14, 1998

Web media producer Wired Digital, part of the Lycos Network, has announced the appointment of veteran journalist George Shirk to the post of editor in chief for Wired News, the company's online technology news service. Shirk, who was most recently news director for SF Gate, the online editorial service of Chronicle Publishing Company, brings 28 years of news management and print and online journalism experience to Wired News.

The company also announced further expansion of its business and political coverage with the appointment of two top-level journalists -- Declan McCullagh, formerly of Time Inc., and Kourosh Karimkhany, formerly of Reuters and Bloomberg News -- to the posts of politics editor and business editor, respectively. These appointments will enhance Wired News's analysis of technology's deepening influence on worldwide capital markets, economics, and politics.

"Wired News's incredible growth is a result of the strong team of journalists and writers who deliver the future daily to an increasingly strong and loyal readership base," said Beth Vanderslice, president of Wired Digital. "With the addition of George Shirk and top journalists like Declan and Kourosh, we're well positioned to continue providing the best beyond-the- horizon technology coverage in the online news industry."

Prior to joining Wired News, George Shirk spent three years developing Chronicle Publishing's SF Gate into a digital address for general news, entertainment, and information about the San Francisco Bay Area. Prior to that, Shirk was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Jose Mercury News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Des Moines Register and Tribune, and The Cedar Rapids Gazette. In addition to his work in the field, Shirk currently teaches Internet journalism at the City College of San Francisco and sits on the advisory board of the University of Iowa's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.