[Staci D. Kramer] You’re reading it here first … online journalism pioneer Elizabeth Osder reports to work at Yahoo Media Group today as senior director, social media, reporting to Neil Budde, executive producer of Yahoo News. She’ll be responsible for what Yahoo Media VP Scott Moore tells me is one of his top three initiatives. (The other two are broadband and the user experience.) Moore said Osder’s hiring is “a clear indicator of our intention to go deep in social media and user-generated content.” Her initial task will be to set up a plan that integrates Yahoo’s growing phalanx of social media tools — Yahoo 360, Flickr, etc. — with an emphasis on interesting user-generated content. “Figuring out how to harness the power of that self-expression and user-generated content, not only the willingness and desire to share, is the essence of what is Elizabeth is going to do for us,” says Moore. Part of her job is to figure out what kind of resources will be needed. Adds Moore, “This is a real initiative and a real focus for us. We’ll do what it takes.”
Osder started in journalism as a freelance photographer and AP photography editor. In addition to a stint in global product development with Yahoo Overture Services, her resume includes numerous new media projects; executive producer, Advance Publications/ Advance Internet; content development editor, NY Times; director of product development, NYT Digital; several positions at Scient (formerly iXL); and consulting. She was a founder of the Online News Association.
Osder starts work the same day the Yahoo Media Group announces distribution deals with CNN and ABC News that greatly enhance Yahoo’s broadband video offerings. It’s a coincidence — the content deals have been in the pipeline for weeks — that highlights Yahoo’s intent to provide a full broadband news service without losing sight of its software and search origins.
(Disclosure: I worked with Osder at the Online Journalism Review when she was a visiting professor at USC-Annenberg.)
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