Twitter announced on Thursday that Vivian Schiller, the chief digital officer at NBC News, will join the company in a newly created head of news partnerships position beginning in 2014.
Twitter announced the news from one of the company's Twitter feeds, @TwitterForNews, and Schiller also tweeted about her upcoming job switch. Schiller brings an extensive news background with her to the microblogging site, having spent time in senior management positions at NPR, the New York Times and CNN over the past 12 years.
[seealso slug="breaking-news-twitter"]
Schiller's role with Twitter will be broad, according to sources familiar with the situation. She will serve as an intermediary between the social network and the numerous media outlets it works with daily, and she will also provide journalists' feedback to Twitter so it can build the service around the needs and wants of the media industry. Schiller's television background should come into play in helping Twitter increase involvement in real-time news broadcasts during events like Presidential debates.
We're thrilled to announce @VivianSchiller is joining the team as Twitter's new Head of News Partnerships. She starts in January!— Twitter for News (@TwitterForNews) October 24, 2013
In Twitter's march toward an IPO next month, it has been scooping up television and media partnerships to bring original content to the platform. In September, Twitter inked an advertising deal with CBS to bring original video content to users' Twitter streams. Various other media partnerships, including Bloomberg TV, Time Inc., and New York magazine, were already as part of the same program called Amplify.
Schiller's hiring does not come as a surprise. Reports surfaced three weeks ago that Schiller was pegged as the top candidate for the position, and All Things D reported that deal was "all but done" in early October, following months of searching.
Excited to join @Twitter as Head of News in January. Leaving @NBCNews at year's end. Grateful to my beloved colleagues for 2+ great years.— Vivian Schiller (@VivianSchiller) October 24, 2013
Schiller will join a relatively new media partnership team at Twitter when she begins her new job in January. In the last two months, Twitter has hired a new head of music and a new head of sports.
[wp_scm_comment]