Veteran climate and environmental news reporter advances to ‘online strike force’ and White House beat.

It’s generally considered one of the premium news beats in journalism, the pinnacle of a reporter’s career — covering the White House for The Washington Post, and advancing to that assignment can only be good for one’s resume.

So with a quick March 4 announcement, long-time Post environmental correspondent Juliet Eilperin moved from the green beat to the white (house) beat. The move came just as journalism list serves and media watchdogs were howling over a New York Times decision to bag its online “Green” blog, home of a number of environmental freelancers. (See related post.)

Eilperin, since taking the lead as the Post’s national environmental reporter eight years ago, had done considerable reporting on climate change issues. The move certainly adds to the void in quality coverage of the issue, at least for a while,  just as a second-term Obama administration has expressed revived commitment to climate change.

Eilperin says she’ll continue to cover climate policy from her White House perch, though that clearly will be just one issue among many on her suddenly fuller plate. The paper in time is expected to name a replacement environmental reporter.

In announcing the reorganization, Post National Deputy Editor Cameron Barr and Political Editor Steven Ginsberg wrote in a memo:

Juliet Eilperin will return to the world of politics to cover the White House. Juliet has had a terrific run on the environment beat, becoming one of the country’s leading reporters on climate change. She will continue to cover White House policy on climate from her new perch. Her high metabolism is legendary within The Post and her deep sourcing in the political world will be key to her new role.