Madhulika Sikka, who has been Morning Edition's executive producer since joining NPR six years ago, will become the organization's executive editor in January.
In announcing the promotion this morning, NPR Senior Vice President for News Margaret Low Smith lauded Sikka's work at Morning Edition, saying she "brought real vision" to the show and that it has "evolved into a more interesting and relevant program" under her leadership.
As executive editor, Sikka will "oversee all desks and help set the news agenda for the entire division," Smith said.
Sikka fills a position that has been open since last November, when Dick Meyer left NPR to join BBC America.
Morning Edition supervising producer Tracy Wahl will serve as the show's acting executive producer while a search for Sikka's successor gets under way.
Smith also announced today that Neal Carruth, who is currently heading up NPR's Elections Unit, will become NPR's senior business editor in December.
With Sikka's promotion, NPR has now filled each of the top leadership posts that opened in the past two years. CEO Gary Knell came to NPR last December. Last February, he named Smith to the senior vice president for news post and tapped Kinsey Wilson to be executive vice president and chief content officer. As we wrote then, controversies over the handling of analyst Juan Williams' dismissal and a heavily edited videotape surreptitiously made by associates of conservative activist James O'Keefe had led to the departures of NPR's top news executive at the time, Ellen Weiss, and CEO Vivian Schiller.
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