WSJ shuffles media reporters, has openings

Wall Street Journal business editor Jamie Heller sent out the following announcement on Thursday:

Hello,

I write to share more moves and openings in corp.

Deepa Seetharaman, who has done outstanding work as our Facebook reporter, will be transitioning to a more thematic beat around social media after she returns from parental leave next year. We thank Deepa for her impressive work, including her prescient leder last year on Facebook’s live-video efforts, her scoop last month on the company’s leadership tumult, and her exclusive work with Kirsten Grind on, among other things, Facebook’s internal thinking ahead of the documents released in London this week.

We have posted a job covering Facebook out of our San Francisco bureau. This reporter will have primary responsibility for core corporate coverage of Facebook—leadership, strategy, successes and stumbles. The person will be part of and work closely with our social media team, led by Brad Reagan. If you’re interested, please contact Brad and bureau chief Jason Dean.

Meanwhile, also in San Francisco, we’re thrilled to welcome Asa Fitch to cover advanced technologies, including the chipmakers and artificial intelligence broadly. Asa joins us from the Middle East bureau where he’s helped lead the way on our coverage of Iran and Yemen.

In our Media & Marketing group, Keach Hagey has shifted to a media and tech beat focused on the intersection between the two, from the Facebook/Google digital ad duopoly to the many new information distributors emerging on and beyond the major platforms. Keach has long dominated coverage of big media companies for the WSJ, and we are excited about what she will unearth on her new beat. Already, she is working with San Francisco including on this leder.

Shalini Ramachandran, whose work on Netflix with Joe Flint is among our most memorable this year, has moved to the Management & Careers group in New York to cover corporate culture and boards. Shalini will be working with beat reporters world-wide and is already embarked on exciting joint projects. Please look forward to hearing from her about ideas and please bring her your own.

Joe Flint, whose main focus is the Hollywood TV landscape, is adding Netflix to his stable of media company coverage. In addition to the great work he did with Shalini on Netflix, he distinguished the Journal with his superb coverage of Megyn Kelly at NBC.

Ben Mullin, who independently and with colleagues has delivered several scoops on the digital publishing beat, will be taking on coverage of pay television, focusing on distribution — from giants like Comcast to the new online “skinny” bundles hitting the market. He will work closely with Joe and others on television and media stories.

We have two great openings now in media & marketing, one covering big media companies and one focused on digital advertising (contact Amol Sharma).

We also have openings in Beijing for a business editor, a tech columnist and a resources reporter (contacts: Charles Hutzler and Neil Western); and in Los Angeles for a gambling reporter and a Hollywood reporter (contact: Ethan Smith). We will imminently be posting a position covering cybersecurity/technology out of London (contact Chip Cummins).

Happiest of holidays to all,

Jamie