Overview
- Baker, previously the Herald’s chief reporter, was appointed by McIlveen to lead the newsroom.
- She will formally take up the role early in the New Year, with deputies Nick Ralston and Liam Phelan supporting McIlveen during the transition.
- Shields leaves the editor role after four years to focus on his health and plans to return in 2026 in a senior writing position.
- Under the senior structure, Baker will report to McIlveen alongside The Age editor Patrick Elligett and national editor David King.
- McIlveen credited Shields with maintaining the Herald as Australia’s most-read masthead and highlighted achievements including a Parramatta bureau, an expanded investigations team, and award-winning coverage of ‘forever chemicals’ and poker machine reform.