Fairfax Media creates new social media editor role

Fairfax Media, publisher of Stuff.co.nz, has appointed respected journalist and blogger Greer McDonald as its first Social Media Editor, further cementing its leadership position in the online space.

McDonald has been a news reporter at The Dominion Post for the past two years, specialising in online issues.

A self-confessed social media junkie, McDonald already uses tools such as Twitter, Facebook and her popular blog, Greer 2.0, on Stuff.co.nz and dompost.co.nz to connect with readers.

The blog, a finalist in the 2009 Qantas Media Awards, attracts thousands of readers each month, making it one of the most read blogs in Fairfax Media’s stable.

Fairfax’s Group Digital Editor, Sinead Boucher, said the social media editor was an exciting and important new role within the editorial team and recognised the growing importance of social networking and the huge part it played in people’s lives. The appointment is part of the group’s wider social media strategy.
“The position is designed to find new ways to reach and engage with readers and to help them interact with our content beyond Stuff.co.nz and other Fairfax Media websites.

“People are using social networks not only to communicate with friends and colleagues, but to source news, find out what is going on in their communities and share great stories or ideas with others,” she said.

Boucher said that to her knowledge, Fairfax Media was one of only a handful of media companies around the world to appoint a fulltime social media editor.

McDonald studied journalism at Waikato Institute of Technology where she received the Waikato Times excellence in journalism award.

McDonald said she was excited about the opportunities the new role offered.

“Social media is about conversation and I’m looking forward to increasing that dialogue with readers of both Stuff and Fairfax’s other newspapers and websites,” she said.
“Developing a social media strategy is just as important to media companies as it is to those who consume news. It’s mutually beneficial and something that isn’t going to fade away any time soon.”

McDonald starts in her new role in February.
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NOTE TO EDITOR:
Stuff.co.nz is New Zealand’s biggest and most popular news site, with more than 3.4 million unique users a month and several thousand followers on Facebook and Twitter.

(Nielsen Online Market Intelligence Total Traffic December 2009.)