AP’s Ferrara joins Bankrate.com as chief content officer

Lou Ferrara, the Associated Press’s former vice president and managing editor who announced he was leaving the newswire two weeks ago, begins a new job today as chief content officer of Bankrate.com, a financial news and ratings publication.

Kelsey Sutton of Politico writes, “Ferrara worked at the Associated Press for more than 10 years, notably leading the newswire’s advances in automated programs. As managing editor for business news, Ferrara employed Automated Insights software to write earnings reports and college sports recaps, making the AP the first major news outlet to use the automated technology. At the AP, Ferrara also guided the wire service’s entry into social media and led a number of projects to gather information from user-generated content.

“Ferrara also advocated for an investment into Automated Insights, which was acquired by Vista in February of this year; while the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Ferrara said the return on investment was ‘significant.’

“‘Lou Ferrara is ideally suited to take over the leadership of bankrate.com’s content strategy,’ Kim said in a statement. ‘Lou’s expertise in spearheading innovations and introducing new mobile, video and social technologies will further enhance Bankrate’s content offering and take the company to the next level.'”

Read more here.