NBC News names new digital, editorial exec

NBC News has named Julian March senior vice president of editorial and innovation.

March, currently director of online for ITV in the UK, will move to New York in early 2014 when he officially begins his new role, according to an announcement issued by Deborah Turness, president of NBC News.

Reporting to Turness, March will be a key editorial leader at NBC News. He will have responsibility for all digital businesses, including NBCNews.com, as well as the news division’s editorial units, which will allow for further integration of broadcast TV news and digital operations. He will also be charged with driving innovation in all its forms across all platforms.

March, in many ways, fills many of the responsibilities of outgoing chief digital officer Vivian Schiller, who will leave NBC News by the end of the year to join Twitter.

“Julian is the perfect person for this exciting new strategic and editorial role,” Turness said in a memo to NBC News staff. “He is not only a talented, extremely capable and dynamic journalist with decades of television news experience, he’s also a proven digital leader and innovator with a very unique understanding of the intersection of broadcast news and digital.  And he has the right leadership skills to drive new ways to collaborate and help lead us through the transition, reshaping the way we produce and deliver our news and storytelling on all platforms and devices.”

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me,” said March in a statement issued by the network. “News is the nexus of storytelling and technology — and nowhere else is innovation more important right now.  As the competition for our audience’s attention and trust becomes fiercer, we must find more effective ways to tell our stories.  NBC News is well placed to take on this challenge, and I am so excited to be a part of their exciting future.”

At ITV, March has been responsible for the strategy and delivery of the network’s entire online business. Under his leadership, ITV successfully transformed into a digital-first and multi-platform news provider.

Prior to ITV, he spent 11 years at Sky News, where he launched the award-winning Sky News app, and produced over 3,000 hours of live television, including coverage of major breaking news stories such as the July 7 London bombings and the Indian Ocean tsunami.

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