Facebook has hired journalism veteran Liz Heron for a new role intended to better connect the social network with media organizations.
Heron, who will join Facebook after two years at The Wall Street Journal and previous roles with the New York Times and Washington Post, announced the news on Facebook Wednesday. In her most recent role as emerging media editor at the WSJ, Heron worked with reporters to create news tailored specifically for mobile and social media audiences.
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"In this new role, I'll have the opportunity to work directly on how Facebook partners with journalists and media organizations, at a time when Facebook is putting a big emphasis on news and mobile, two things close to my professional heart," she wrote on Facebook.
Facebook's new addition comes just months after Twitter filled a similar role last October with NBC's Vivian Schiller as head of news partnerships. Schiller has a similar role, serving as a liaison between Twitter and news organizations utilizing the service to spread news and information.
I'm joining Facebook, for a new job centered around the news: https://t.co/TXnwmfoJIb
— Liz Heron (@lheron) March 12, 2014
Both hires merely reinforce what has already become apparent: that social networks are major vehicles for news organizations to get the word out about their content and stories.
Data from the Pew Research Center found that 50% of Americans now consider the Internet their main source of news, and nearly 20% of the total population used social networks for news back in 2012. That number has most surely risen since then.
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