WASHINGTON, D.C. – A top editor at BusinessWeek magazine will take over the leadership of the International Center for Journalists (ICFJ), one of the world’s leading media development organizations.

The ICFJ Board announced that Joyce Barnathan, who has held a wide range of senior editorial and management positions at BusinessWeek and Newsweek, will become ICFJ’s new president early this summer.  She succeeds Eileen O’Connor, who left the organization in January to practice law at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe, LLP.  David Anable, ICFJ’s president from 1997 to 2004, is presiding over the Center until Barnathan’s arrival.

“Joyce is a first-class journalist and manager, with a passion for bringing excellence to journalism,” said James Hoge, ICFJ Board Chairman and Editor of Foreign Affairs magazine.  “She will chart a dynamic future for ICFJ, and invigorate its activities as technology radically changes the landscape of media throughout the world.”

Barnathan is currently Executive Editor – Global Franchise at BusinessWeek, where she plays a key role in expanding the magazine’s reach and improving its editorial product around the world. She also has served as Assistant Managing Editor and has supervised almost every department at the magazine. As the Asia Regional Editor, she launched the Asia edition and managed award-winning coverage of China’s growth, Asia’s financial crisis and the turmoil in Indonesia. She began her career at BusinessWeek in 1990 as an editor in the international department.

From 1979 until 1988, she held a number of journalistic posts at Newsweek, including Moscow Bureau Chief, Special National Political Correspondent and State Department Correspondent. For her work, she has been honored with five Overseas Press Club Awards and one National Headliner Award, among other honors. She also served as a Freedom Forum Fellow in 1989-1990. Barnathan received a bachelor’s degree in Russian and Chinese area studies, as well as master’s degree in Asian studies, from Washington University, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri. She speaks conversational Chinese, Russian and Spanish.

The International Center for Journalists was founded in 1984 by Tom Winship, Jim Ewing and George Krimsky in the belief that vigorous, independent media are essential building blocks on which democracy, freedom and human rights must be based. ICFJ’s mission is to improve the quality of journalism worldwide through professional training, fellowships and exchanges. During the past 22 years, it has worked with more than 20,000 journalists from 176 countries. ICFJ is an independent nonprofit institution based in Washington, D.C.