WSJ.com deputy managing editor Christine Glancey and managing editor Raju Narisetti sent out the following staff announcement on Tuesday:
We are pleased to announce significant moves on the Hub designed to capture the expertise of two WSJ.com leaders and unleash them in challenging new arenas that will propel us to the next level in digital news delivery.
Jennifer Hicks will triumphantly return to New York in mid-November from her successful three-year run as the digital diva of London to become leader of the online homepage team, succeeding Brian Fitzgerald. Jenn has shown a keen sense of real-time news and a master’s understanding of how readers consume that news online. From the daily drumbeat of the Euro Crisis to the Queen’s Jubilee and London Olympics, Jenn has proven she can work with bureaus to tailor crisp news packages with speed and also craft the best in digital presentation to delight readers. She played a big role in planning and launching the German-language site earlier this year and has been an early advocate of the streaming story concept. Her role in New York will call on all these skills. She will be responsible for daily decisions on play and execution of news delivery, hour by hour maximizing our content and creating a dynamic reader experience.
Before her two leadership roles in London guiding the European site, Jenn helped manage the WSJ.com evening desk in New York having first joined the Journal as an online news assistant in 2004. Jenn holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s from Columbia j-school. She is a Knight New Media fellow and has worked as an adjunct professor at Columbia and CUNY journalism schools.
Brian, the flame-keeper of innovation, excellence and high standards at WSJ.com, is now taking his deep well of digital experience with him as he turns his focus from the construction of the website to the news that fuels it. He will work with the Journal news desks, wires, real-time deputies and multimedia editors to plot and build online coverage for news both breaking and planned. He will be a first-responder for news online, a person to help you develop your ideas and a continuing contributor to the site’s growth strategy.
For 16 years at WSJ.com, Brian has been developing a unique, intimate knowledge not only of our site, but of the revolution in the online news industry. He has been generous in spreading that understanding throughout the news room at a critical moment in our history. Fitzy, who has a bachelor’s from Seton Hall University, joined the Journal as a news assistant. He led the evening online team and daytime homepage team; worked on the website redesign and the launch of Methode and the new metadata panels; represented editorial on countless projects such as responsive design; and was an inaugural member of the Hub.
It is our goal to be in a constant state of evolution. To innovate and redefine the very best of what online news can be, and to execute on that vision every hour. With Jenn and Fitzy, we have two experienced digital news room leaders moving into critical positions at a critical time.
