c. 2006 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON _ Kevin R.E. Eckstrom has been promoted to the position of editor for Religion News Service (RNS), effective May 1. He succeeds Mark O’Keefe, who will join the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life as associate director, editorial.
Eckstrom has been associate editor of RNS for the past year; prior to that, he was RNS’ national correspondent, focusing on the Catholic and mainline Protestant beats and on enterprise reporting. He led Religion News Service’s coverage last year of the death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI.
O’Keefe has served as editor of RNS for nearly two years. Before that, he was a national correspondent covering values and philanthropy for Newhouse News Service, the owner of Religion News Service. He has worked for the Newhouse organization, including The Oregonian in Portland, Ore., for nearly 12 years.
“Mark made an immediate and positive impact on RNS as its editor,” said Linda Fibich, Newhouse News Service bureau chief. “He sharpened the focus of the service, rebuilt and refreshed its team of correspondents and stringers, and helped build the service not only in reputation, but in terms of subscribers. He has also mentored Kevin to serve as editor, which allows the service to undergo a seamless transition, as Mark pursues a new and exciting opportunity with the Pew Forum _ an RNS subscriber.”
Eckstrom joined the RNS staff in February 2000. Previously, he worked as religion editor at the Stuart/Port St. Lucie News in Florida. He was the winner of the 2000 Cassels Award for small newspapers from the Religion Newswriters Association, and placed third for the 2002 Templeton Religion Reporter of the Year prize.
Since 2000, he has won 12 Awards of Excellence and six Awards of Merit from the Associated Church Press. Eckstrom holds an M.S. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. from The George Washington University.
Eckstrom is vice president of the board of trustees for the Religion Newswriters Association and his work was featured in the book “Changing Boundaries: The Best Religion News Writing of 2003.”
Religion News Service is the only secular wire service focused exclusively on religion, ethics, spirituality and moral issues. A worldwide network of correspondents, stringers and columnists delivers syndicated news and opinion daily to more than 100 major daily newspapers, including The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The New York Times and USA Today. Also among subscribers to the service are Time magazine, Newsweek, PBS and hundreds of other publications, broadcasters and Web sites.
For more than 70 years, Religion News Service _ whose content now reaches more than 20 million readers worldwide _ has covered such important stories as the civil rights movement, the persecution of Jews during World War II, the rise of the evangelical movement, the Vietnam antiwar movement and the founding of Israel.
RNS also provides a photo service with thousands of current and stock photos and graphics. Newhouse News Service is owned by Advance Publications Inc.
MO/RB END RNSEditors: To obtain a file photo of Kevin Eckstrom, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
