Twitter has hired Vivian Schiller to run news partnerships as the company prepares for its official IPO. Here are five fast facts you need to know.
1. Schiller Will Leave NBC In January
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
Her role at Twitter will be to reinforce the relationship between the microblogging platform and the journalistic community. This involved establishing relationships with legacy media outlets such as NPR and The New York Times in which she has worked for in the past. Another aspect of her role may be suggesting various tools that can help reporters with their writing.
2. She Has Always Been The Top Candidate
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
Earlier this month, AllThingsD reported that she was a lock for this position. Twitter was looking around for a qualified candidate to essentially serve as media ambassador for this community. The reasoning behind her hiring is probably because she has excellent awareness of the landscape and understands how to reach out writers to embrace the service. While Twitter employs a few liaisons to the industry, Vivian will be the lead representative.
3. Schiller Is An Experienced Pro
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Schiller’s journalism career has involved several roles advocating digital tools for newsrooms. (Getty)
She’s held multiple positions at various outlets throughout her career. She was been with NBC since 2011 but Schiller has also worked for the New York Times and Discovery. The job posting Twitter provided required candidates to have the following qualities:
responsible for devising and executing the strategies that make Twitter indispensable to newsrooms and journalists, as well as an essential part of the operations and strategy of news organizations and TV news networks.
The search began in April but Schiller’s resume was practically tailored for this exact position.
4.She Has One Big Flaw On Her Resume
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The new exec has avoided controversy for most of her career except when she ran NPR. She held the CEO position before immediately resigning in 2011 after two political controversies threatened to dismantle the prime source of public radio. However, her expertise in the digital arena is stellar and she did her best to lead the radio into a new age.
5. TV & News Are The Best Source of Revenue For The IPO
Schiller’s job is to please one of the main communities Twitter is targeting as the IPO creeps closer. The role the platform has played in several uprisings has increased its value for aspiring writers. TV is another target too since shows like Scandal have maximized the reach it can give for audiences which is why Twitter is embracing these two cultures. Of course, this segment of the company is still developing but Schiller can handle it.
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