New York, NY -- September 19 -- BuzzFeed News today announced the appointment of Samantha Henig as its first-ever Executive Editor, effective October 6. In this new role, Henig will be responsible for expanding and strengthening the business and reach of BuzzFeed News’ trailblazing journalism. Henig will be based in BuzzFeed’s New York office and will report to Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith.
As BuzzFeed News’ Executive Editor, Henig will be charged with building out new revenue streams and bolstering the news organization, including news events, memberships, podcasts, syndication, and advertising sales. She will also oversee the news operations team that manages budgets, operations, and external partnerships.
“We’re thrilled to have Sam Henig on board,” said Ben Smith, Editor-in-Chief of BuzzFeed News. “Sam has demonstrated the energy, ambition, and ability to get things done in an institution that’s both totally committed to news, and also built one of the best businesses in the industry. She’s a journalist first, but someone who understands the landscape of commercial projects that can draw from and expand our award-winning journalism."
Henig joins BuzzFeed News from The New York Times, where she was most recently the founding Director of Audio and one of the architects of The Daily podcast. During her tenure at The Times, Henig worked across the business and newsroom to mature the organizations’ digital-first transformation and grow audience and revenue. Prior, she led the team that transformed the Sunday magazine as the first digital editor. Before The Times, Henig was a reporter and editor at the New Yorker, Slate, and Newsweek. She attended Cornell University, where she co-founded Kitsch, a student magazine that has been running for more than 15 years.
About BuzzFeed News
Since 2012, BuzzFeed News has grown from a social news upstart into an world-class news organization with original reporting and programming with multiple Pulitzer nominations. BuzzFeed News today has more than 200 reporters, editors, and producers worldwide across New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC., San Francisco, London, Berlin, Toronto, São Paulo, Sydney, Tokyo, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Tel Aviv, Brussels, Mexico City, Mumbai, Delhi, Dakar, and Nairobi. BuzzFeed News averages roughly 50 million unique visitors a month, and more than 60% of its audience is in the coveted 18 to 34 age demographic.