AP’s Asia-Pacific editor McDowell named AP assistant bureau chief for Illinois and Indiana

McDowell named AP asst. bureau chief in Ill., Ind.

CHICAGO — Patrick McDowell, Asia-Pacific editor for The Associated Press, has been named assistant chief of bureau for Illinois and Indiana.

The appointment was announced Tuesday by Kate Lee Butler, the AP’s vice president for U.S. Newspaper Markets. McDowell will report to Chief of Bureau George Garties and succeeds Dave Zelio, who last year was named sports editor for AP’s Central Region.

McDowell has reported for the AP from Europe, Africa and Asia, and in his current position led award-winning coverage of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2008 cyclone that devastated Myanmar. He also was an architect of the AP’s expansion of its China operations in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games, a major strategic initiative for the news cooperative.

In March, McDowell earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

“Patrick has served AP members admirably through his leadership overseas, and will put a strong mix of news and business skills to work for members and customers in Illinois and Indiana,” Butler said.

McDowell, 51, joined the AP in Paris in 1989, reporting from France, North Africa, the Middle East, Rwanda and Haiti. He was named correspondent in South Africa in 1995 and promoted to news editor in Bangkok a year later.

He transferred to Kuala Lumpur in 2000 as chief of bureau for Malaysia, in charge of news and sales. In 2004, he was promoted to Asia-Pacific editor, directing AP’s news operations across Asia.

A native of Petaluma, Calif., McDowell earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of the Pacific and a master’s degree in international journalism from the City University, London.

Eds: CORRECTS 2004 tsunami to Indian Ocean, not Pacific.