Jim Baltzelle is Florida bureau chief and Caribbean sales manager for the Associated Press, based in Miami. A veteran news manager in Florida for most of his career, Baltzelle became bureau chief in Miami in 2006. Caribbean duties were added in 2009.

Prior to his current assignment, Baltzelle served as AP’s interim bureau chief for Louisiana and Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He joined AP as assistant bureau chief in Texas in 2004. His AP work involves the oversight of news administration and newspaper relationships in Florida. In the Caribbean, he is charged with establishing and expanding AP’s client base. His efforts helped lead to the creation of a national news sharing apparatus, called Marketplace, which began in Florida. He helped develop a new core Caribbean English-language product in 2009. His responsibilities include corporate ownership of AP’s relationship with Morris Communications nationally.

Baltzelle has served as a member and chairman of national recruitment committees; a member of AP’s national intern selection committee; and a mentor and coach in an AP national mentoring program. He is vice president of the Florida Society of News Editors and a director of the Florida Press Association. He sits on journalism advisory boards at the University of Florida and Flagler College, where he taught as an adjunct instructor.

He has received numerous press awards for individual and team efforts; most recently leading Florida AP staffers to four top honors in last year’s Green Eyeshade competition, which recognizes the best work in the South.

Before joining AP, Baltzelle worked for 17 years at Florida newspapers. He was editor of the St. Augustine Record, deputy metro editor of The Florida Times-Union, executive editor of the Palatka Daily News and local news editor of the Ocala Star-Banner, among other roles.

Baltzelle was born in Miami and graduated from the University of Florida.