New York, April 25, 2013 -- Social news site BuzzFeed announced today it has hired Lisa Tozzi as News Director. Joining BuzzFeed from The New York Times, Tozzi will lead the site's news coverage, manage a team of reporters and shape the site's move into vigorously covering breaking news. Bringing two decades of news experience and a must-follow Twitter feed with her, Tozzi will work closely with Editor-in-Chief Ben Smith, across all content verticals and the social media team to expand BuzzFeed's already stellar news coverage on the site and on @BuzzFeedNews.
"Breaking news, which once lived almost exclusively on TV and then online, has increasingly migrated to the social web, and BuzzFeed's coverage has grown organically with it. We're in a unique place to combine boots on the ground reporting with a sophisticated understanding of how news is made and spreads on the social web. Lisa is the perfect person to lead this: She's an innovative web native with fast and sure news judgment learned at a great institution. We're thrilled to watch her take our coverage to the next level and lead our talented team of reporters and editors," said Ben Smith, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief.
"I love The New York Times and adore my colleagues here. I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to spend the past thirteen years here working with so many talented people as the Times's evolved into a digital news operation. But I am really impressed by what Ben and BuzzFeed have been able to do, and I am excited to join the team and help develop a new way of doing smart breaking news for the social web and to innovate and experiment with ways to inform our readers," Tozzi said.
Lisa Tozzi joins BuzzFeed from The New York Times, where she worked on nearly every major story over the past 13 years, including four presidential elections, September 11, Hurricane Katrina, and the deaths of nearly every big name from Saddam Hussein to Michael Jackson. Prior to joining The Times, Tozzi was assistant politics editor at The Austin Chronicle in Texas. She lives in New York with her husband Craig Campanella and their dog Quincy.
Tozzi begins at BuzzFeed on May 13.
Media Contact:
Ashley McCollum
BuzzFeed, Senior Press Director
ashley.mccollum@buzzfeed.com
347.977.1411
About BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed is the leading media company for the social age, intensely focused on delivering high-quality original reporting, insight, and viral content across a rapidly expanding array of subject areas. Our technology powers the social distribution of content, detects what is trending on the web, and connects people in realtime with the hottest content of the moment. Our site is rapidly growing and reaches more than 40 million monthly unique visitors. Jonah Peretti, founder & CEO of BuzzFeed, previously co-founded the Huffington Post. Ben Smith is its Editor-in-chief, Jon Steinberg is its President & COO and Kenneth Lerer is the Executive Chairman.