Edmund Atkinson was a male human and reporter for the Times. He began covering politics for the Times in 2350, and even after thirty years in that role, held a great respect and admiration for the political process. He kept an office in London, though through holocam technology, he often attended Palais press briefings while on a beach in Mexico.
In 2379 Atkinson attended a press conference where Kant Jorel, the Palais de la Concorde Press Liaison, announced the candidates for the special election for the President of the United Federation of Planets. Atkinson asked why former president Min Zife had felt the need to resign with only one year left in his term. He and his readers (or so he claimed) did not believe this question was fully covered in Zife's resignation speech. (TNG novel: A Time for War, A Time for Peace)
A few months later in January, 2380, Atkinson attended another press briefing in which Kant implied that negotiators from Delta and Carrea would be coming to Earth to meet with President Nanietta Bacco. Atkinson asked directly if the negotiators had agreed to come as Kant had merely implied that they were. His question earned a sarcastic reply from Kant.
Two months later in March, Atkinson was a panelist on Illuminating the City of Light, where he discussed the status of the Reman refugees heading for Outpost 22, and the strained working relationship between President Bacco and the Federation Council. Later that month, he attended the Council session where President Nanietta Bacco nominated Councillor Krim Aldos to the Federation Security Council, which was followed by a debate between Councillors Bera chim Gleer and T'Latrek. (ST novel: Articles of the Federation)
Atkinson appeared again on ICL in February of 2381 to discuss the future of Federation foreign policy in the aftermath of the Borg Invasion. Several weeks later, at a May 12th presidential press conference regarding the formation of the Typhon Pact, Atkinson questioned President Bacco about the effect of this new alliance on Federation foreign policy. (ST novel: A Singular Destiny)