WSJ names Heron editor for emerging media

Dow Jones & Co. executive editor Almar Latour sent out the following job promotions:

We’re delighted to announce that Liz Heron is promoted to Editor, Emerging Media, for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. In this newly created role, Liz will unite the social media and mobile journalism staff into one team, with an expanded focus on multimedia innovation, realtime news and mobile engagement.

Within the new emerging media group, David Ho will take on an expanded role as Mobile, Tablet and Emerging Technology Editor for The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones. Social Media Editor Neal Mann will take on a new role as Editor, Multimedia Innovations. David and his team will report to Liz, as will Neal.

The new group will help us serve a new generation of news consumers and change the way we communicate with our readers: Mobile news consumption is growing at a rapid clip and social media is proving an increasingly powerful engine of news and conversation, especially on smartphones and tablets. As these trends accelerate and compelling new forms of storytelling emerge, we are committed to producing cutting-edge digital journalism to engage our existing audience and attract new readers.

Liz is exceptionally well-prepared for this role. She is an experienced digital innovator who has led the social media team for the WSJ Digital Network since April 2012, when she joined us from The New York Times. Under her leadership, the social media team played an integral role in WSJ’s breaking news coverage of the Boston bombings and other major stories. The team has also won accolades for its innovative use of new social media/video platforms and engagement of young readers, and has driven a 50 percent rise in average monthly social media referrals since 2011. Liz’s previous roles include Social Media Editor at The New York Times, Innovations Editor for Foreign and National Security at The Washington Post, and Trends Producer at ABC News.

David Ho has led the WSJ mobile team since 2009, where he developed our family of mobile apps — including WSJ’s groundbreaking iPad app, one of the first in the newspaper industry. An experienced teacher, public speaker, and mobile-news visionary, David also leads daily news operations, curation and publishing for mobile audiences at WSJ. Before diving into mobile, he covered technology as a reporter.

Neal Mann joined WSJ as social media editor from Sky News in May 2012. He has helped pioneer the use of social media in news gathering and has a track record in innovative multi-platform journalism. Since joining the WSJ, Neal has focused on creating video designed specifically for social and mobile audiences.

Please join us in congratulating Liz, David and Neal on their new roles.