The AJC’s newest editorial columnist

After a unique search that included strong input from readers, we’ve selected a new full-time conservative columnist to take over for our retiring Jim Wooten.

Our standout pick for the job is Kyle Wingfield, who writes editorials and columns for the conservative opinion pages of The Wall Street Journal’s European edition. The editorials he’s crafted have appeared there as well as on WSJ.com and in the U.S. edition. A native of Dalton in North Georgia, Kyle is a world traveler (at age 30 he’s been to nearly 40 nations). He’s a former Associated Press reporter and was an outstanding student at the University of Georgia, where he majored in publication management.

I think you’ll enjoy his columns (whether or not you agree with his ideology). He’s provocative but not shrill. He has a carefully informed approach but also an ability to offer fresh perspectives. And from his duties at the WSJ, he’s well-versed in arenas of particular focus these days: economics and capitalism.

He will write three columns a week in the print AJC and make daily blog postings at ajc.com. You’ll hear more from him in early May when he writes his first column to introduce himself more fully.

He’ll begin producing other columns later that month as he completes his move from Europe.

Kyle’s presence at the AJC was backed by feedback from readers, who helped inform our efforts to pick from among nearly 200 job candidates. Jim Wooten’s Sunday column offers an inside view of that effort.

But first, I want to draw your attention to one of the many questions candidates answered in their initial submissions to us: Why do you think you are the best person for this job? Read an excerpt of Kyle’s answer to that question.