Scott Shafer (Twitter: @scottshafer) has been named Senior Editor of the California Politics and Government Desk at KQED. In the new and expanded role at KQED News, Shafer will lead the editorial direction of a three-person team covering the state. He will also help craft KQED’s in-depth coverage of the 2016 election.
“Scott is such an asset to KQED, hosting The California Report with great expertise for years, as a correspondent for our weekly television series KQED Newsroom and as a sharp political analyst and reporter,” said Holly Kernan, Executive Editor for KQED News. “He approaches politics in a way that goes beyond horse race coverage and helps us understand how policy impacts the lives of real people. There is no one better to lead KQED’s expanded political coverage of California.”
“There’s no more exciting place in the country to cover politics than California. It’s the ultimate laboratory for democracy,” said Shafer. “I want our audience to understand what’s at stake in government and whether government is working for them. Signing a bill or passing a ballot measure is just the first step. I want to explore what happens when new laws and ballot measures bump up against Californians in their daily lives, for better and for worse”
Since joining KQED in 1998, Shafer has covered stories for National Public Radio programs including All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition Saturday and Weekend Edition Sunday. Most recently, he hosted The California Report’s 30-minute weekly news magazine. Shafer and his team will continue to contribute to KQED Newsroom and The California Report.
Shafer has earned numerous awards for his political reporting. He was a member of the panel of journalists that questioned candidates in the televised 2010 U.S. Senate debate between Barbara Boxer and Carly Fiorina. He covered the gay marriage issue from the Proposition 8 Campaign through the U.S. Supreme Court decision that made same sex marriage legal in California. Shafer has hosted live statewide coverage of election night and State of the State Addresses every year since 1998.