WSJ names social media editor

Liz Heron, the director of social media and engagement at The Wall Street Journal, sent out the following email announcement on Thursday afternoon:

I’m delighted to report that Allison Lichter is joining the Social Media/Engagement team as a social media editor. Allison will use her considerable digital chops to help us build new communities of readers, use social networks for reporting, and creatively distribute our journalism to readers on a variety of platforms, in real time.

Since joining the Journal in 2010, Allison has been the senior editor overseeing digital content for our growing stable of feature sections, winning accolades from colleagues for her work on Personal Journal, Arena, Off Duty, Review, WSJ Magazine and other sections. She was the face and voice behind @WSJLife on Twitter. Amid an extremely busy period of launching, expanding and revamping sections, she has worked closely with all of their editors to oversee their digital strategies—an array of videos, playlists, online conversations, and social-media offerings, that have contributed to our feature sections’ success. Over the last year she has also edited our Juggle blog and sat in as a deputy editor on the Careers and Management desk.

Before joining the Journal, Allison spent nine years as an editor and producer at WNYC, NPR’s largest affiliate, where she oversaw cultural coverage on-air and online.

Please join me in congratulating Allison, and follow her on her new Twitter account, @AllisonWSJ.