Michelle Williams appointed bureau chief for AP’s South Atlantic region

Williams named AP bureau chief for South Atlantic

ATLANTA — Michelle Williams, chief of bureau for The Associated Press in Arizona and New Mexico, has been named chief of bureau for the South Atlantic region.

The appointment was announced Monday by Kate Lee Butler, vice president for U.S. Newspaper Markets. Williams succeeds former bureau chief Gary Clark, who retired last year.

“Michelle brought an innovative approach to the job of chief of bureau in Arizona-New Mexico. As the Associated Press and its members navigate the rapidly changing news media landscape, she brings an excellent mix of skills in membership, business development and news to the role of Atlanta chief of bureau,” Butler said.

Williams will oversee AP’s news and business operations for Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. She will be based in Atlanta.

Williams, 43, began her AP career in 1989 as an editorial assistant in Nashville, Tenn. She later became a reporter in Milwaukee, where she covered serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer.

She later served as correspondent in Chattanooga, Tenn.; supervisory correspondent in San Diego; Tennessee news editor; and news editor and assistant bureau chief for Texas before becoming bureau chief for Arizona and New Mexico in 2007.

Before joining the AP, Williams, who grew up in Mt. Juliet, Tenn., worked as a reporter at The Lebanon (Tenn.) Democrat and The Tennessean in Nashville.

Williams is a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, where she serves on the New Century Journalism Advisory Board. She’s also part of the mentoring program at Arizona State University’s Cronkite School of Journalism.