Twitter may tap TV big as first news chief
NBC News chief Vivian Schiller is moving closer to the top news job at Twitter.
Schiller, 52, is in negotiations with the microblogging service to become its first head of news, The Post has learned.
A source said that Schiller has yet to decide whether to take the newly created position. She was not immediately reachable. Twitter didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
News outlets and journalists have become crucial to Twitter’s business, which is looking for a news veteran who can further ingratiate the service into the mainstream media.
Given the growing impact of online video, hiring someone with both TV and news experience is said to be a must for the San Francisco-based outfit.
Schiller, who has held jobs at CNN, NPR and the New York Times, certainly fits the job description.
Speculation has been building about who Twitter would hire for the position, considered one of more the intriguing journalism jobs to come along in years.
Twitter is on the path to becoming a publicly traded company after filing for a planned $1 billion share offering last month.
Among the other candidates said to be the running is outgoing Reuters digital chief Jim Roberts.
A colleague of his tweeted her congratulations — prematurely it now appears — on landing the job before quickly deleting the tweet and issuing a retraction.
“Congrats @twitter for snagging @NYCJim,” tweeted Reuters editor Linda Stern, using Roberts’ well-known twitter handle.
Stern later posted this:
Oops!: @NYCJim to @Twitter still a rumor. Apols. Hope for @Twitter's sake it is true.
— lindastern (@lindastern) October 8, 2013