The News
Semafor Co-Founder & Editor in Chief, Ben Smith announced today that John Burgess Everett, former Congressional Bureau Chief at POLITICO, has been appointed Semafor’s first-ever Congressional Bureau Chief. Based in Semafor’s Washington D.C bureau, Everett will be responsible for breaking news on the Hill and delivering nuanced analysis of U.S politics and government in this pivotal election year.
The announcement is part of Semafor’s strategic investment in Washington and follows the appointment of Bennett Richardson as General Manager & Global Head of Public Affairs, responsible for driving commercial growth in policy capitals around the world.
As a veteran of the Hill, Everett has covered the 100 unique figures of the Senate and the battle for power for over a decade. He reports on the intersection of politics, policy, and personality. Everett has established himself as the preeminent reporter of the U.S. Senate at a moment when the institution is playing a key role in America’s political turmoil. He will become a driving force in its coverage of Capitol Hill and take a prominent role in Semafor’s live journalism activities. Everett will also be integral in the company’s Washington-focused newsletter, Principals, which continues to triple its subscriber base year-over-year.
Earlier this year the company held its flagship event, The 2024 World Economy Summit in Washington featuring over 80 speakers, including 20 Fortune 500 CEOs, 10 current administration officials, and 7 current and former cabinet secretaries. The tentpole event returns this fall.
Everett starts in September.
The View From Ben
“Burgess is one of a handful of elite Washington reporters, and I’ve been trying to hire him since well before we launched Semafor. I take his arrival as a vote of confidence, and an opportunity to keep raising our game.” - Ben Smith, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Semafor
The View From Burgess
“I’m impressed with Semafor’s fair, thoughtful approach to journalism and its commitment to Washington, and I’m eager to let the reporting speak for itself.” - Burgess Everett
Know More
Burgess Everett is a longtime congressional journalist specializing in the Senate, politics and Congress’s relationship with the White House. He’s covered Congress for more than a decade at Politico, including as congressional bureau chief, breaking news on everybody from Ted Cruz to Bernie Sanders and writing regularly about the 100 unique figures in the chamber, the biennial battle for Senate control and the intersections of politics, policy and personality. Prior to covering the Senate for Politico, he covered transportation policy and worked as a producer for Politico, and also spent time at The Gazette (Md.) and Portland Press Herald (Maine) before that.
About Semafor
Launched in October 2022 by veteran media executives Justin B. Smith and Ben Smith in both the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa, Semafor is the world’s fastest growing independent news platform committed to delivering intelligent, independent, and transparent journalism to global leaders. With a suite of nine essential newsletters, including Flagship for daily insights, Principals for Washington insiders, Africa for analysis from the continent, Business and Media, Semafor is redefining the news experience by pioneering journalistic innovations from Semaform to Signals. The company brings its news to life with a rapidly-growing live journalism business, producing news-making events including The World Economy Summit and The Semafor Media Summit. In 2024, Semafor was named to Fast Company’s Annual List of the World’s Most Innovative Companies for “rewriting the story on international reporting.”