New York Times names new West Africa correspondent

New York Times has announced seasoned reporter with long personal and professional ties to Africa, Ruth Maclean, as the outfit’s new West Africa correspondent.

Before her new role as New York Times’s West Africa correspondent, Maclean held the same position for The Guardian in the last three years.

Maclean, made this public on her Twitter handle @ruthmaclean on Monday.

New York Times revealed that Maclean will assume office in December with orientation in the newsroom in New York before returning to Dakar.

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At The Guardian, Maclean produced many memorable stories including reports on Cote D’ivoire’s chocolate industry’s devastation of the rainforests; Congolese government’s cover-up of a rape crisis and the tensions between herders and farmers in Nigeria.

Initially based in Johannesburg for The Times of London, Maclean covered some of the biggest stories of the day including the death of Nelson Mandela, the Oscar Pistorius murder trial and the travails of Jacob Zuma.

The University of York-bred journalist speaks Spanish and French, as well as basic Swahili, German and Portuguese.