Lisa Hostein of Philadelphia has been appointed editor of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, an international agency providing news and feature stories of Jewish interest to publications and subscribers around the world.
Hostein, 33, leaves her post as news editor of the Philadelphia weekly Jewish Exponent to assume JTA’s top editorial position on June 1.
The announcement of her appointment was made here by Marshall Weinberg, president of the JTA board of directors, and Ben Zion Leuchter, chairman of the agency’s editorial committee.
As editor, Hostein succeeds Mark Joffe, who was promoted to executive editor and publisher last fall, after serving in the post for six years. Joffe will continue to guide overall editorial policy while turning his attention to general management of the agency and overseeing the redesign of JTA publications.
Hostein will be in charge of coordinating JTA’s daily news coverage and supervising a worldwide staff of more than 30 staff writers, foreign correspondents, bureau chiefs and editors. She will be assisted in this task by Rifka Rosen-wein, who will continue serving as JTA managing editor.
A native of Barrington, R.I., Hostein began working at the Exponent, one of this country’s premiere Jewish weeklies, as an intern in 1982.
After graduating from Swarthmore College with a bachelor’s degree in political science and international relations, she served as a general assignment reporter at the Exponent for one year, before leaving the paper to spend time studying and writing in Israel.
FIVE-TIME WINNER OF ROCKOWER AWARD
Hostein returned to the Exponent in 1985 and became news editor in 1987.
She has traveled widely, undertaking assignments in Israel, Argentina, France, India, Romania, Tunisia, Turkey, Yugoslavia and several U.S. cities.
A five-time winner of the Simon Rockower Award for Excellence in Jewish Journalism and a recipient of an award from the Philadelphia Press Association, Hostein is also co-author of the 1990 book “Your People, My People: Finding Acceptance and Fulfillment of a Jew By Choice” (Jewish Publication Society).
“I am thrilled to be joining JTA at a time when both the news world and the Jewish world are facing new challenges,” said Hostein.
“I’m looking forward to meeting those challenges head on and to contributing to the growth of the agency, so that it continues to serve as a primary and relevant source of information for Jews around the globe.”
Founded in The Hague in 1917, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency was the first news agency that not only gathered but also disseminated news in every part of the world.
Today it is based in New York, with bureaus in Washington, Jerusalem and Paris, and correspondents in 20 countries around the world.
It is a primary source of news about international developments for more than 100 Jewish publications based all over the globe.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
