REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 15, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Jennifer Sizemore has been named managing editor of MSNBC.com and executive producer of NBC News, effective immediately. Sizemore will oversee MSNBC.com's newsroom, drive editorial strategy and work closely with the entire NBC News organization to maximize the delivery of web content to news consumers. This announcement makes Sizemore the only woman leading a major national online news editorial operation and was made jointly today by Charlie Tillinghast, President, MSNBC.com and Steve Capus, President, NBC News.
"Jennifer has done an incredible job leading the news group through the intense news events of the last few months and I'm thrilled to formalize that leadership," Tillinghast said. "Our collaboration with NBC News results in projects such as our netcasts and blogs, which are unmatched in the industry. Jennifer will further strengthen that relationship and lead us into new and exciting times."
"This announcement, and new structure for this position, speaks directly to our commitment at NBC News to incorporate MSNBC.com into every aspect of our news gathering and reporting efforts," said Capus. "Jennifer brings a real institutional knowledge that will be invaluable as we continue to increase the division's presence on the web."
Sizemore, 37, joined MSNBC.com in July 2005 as deputy editor for news. Prior to joining MSNBC.com, Sizemore was the deputy managing editor for news at the Houston Chronicle and an assistant managing editor at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle. A Seattle native, she graduated from the University of Washington with a B.A. in Political Science and holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
"The most talented, innovative journalists in Internet journalism are at MSNBC.com and I'm honored to be a part of it," Sizemore said. "Every day, along with NBC News, we're telling stories no one else is telling, and inventing new ways to tell those stories. It couldn't be a more exciting time to take on this immense challenge."
Sizemore takes the helm at a time of rapid growth for MSNBC.com. In November 2005, MSNBC.com drew 22.3 million unique visitors and, for the tenth straight month, topped all other broadcast and cable news web sites including CNN.com, according to Nielsen//Net Ratings. Since March 2005, MSNBC.com has averaged 24 million monthly unique visitors, more than the unique visitors for ABCNews.com, CBSNews.com and FOXNews.com combined.
In recent months, NBC News and MSNBC.com increased the amount of NBC News content available on MSNBC.com. The "NBC Nightly News Netcast" (www.Nightly.msnbc.com) and the "Meet the Press Netcast" (www.mtp.msnbc.com) recently launched, becoming the first and only network news programs to be broadcast in their entirety and free of charge, online. "NBC Nightly News" anchor Brian Williams' regular blog "The Daily Nightly" (www.dailynightly.msnbc.com) serves as a companion to the broadcast, and offers a transparent look at how decisions are made in the newsroom as well as previews and additional information about segments. "Blogging Baghdad" (www.baghdadblog.msnbc.com), dispatches from NBC News correspondents in Iraq, led by Richard Engel, launched earlier this month.
ABOUT MSNBC.com:
MSNBC.com, the award-winning news site widely recognized as the best on the Internet, is the exclusive online channel for the NBC Universal News family, which includes "Today", "NBC Nightly News", "Dateline NBC", "Meet the Press" and MSNBC TV. MSNBC.com's driving force is to provide the optimal consumer experience, presenting a diverse range of original content and the best from our partners in a rich multi-media environment that includes interactive features and free streaming video, allowing users to access the news and information they want, when they want it, 24 hours a day. Based in Redmond, WA, MSNBC.com is a joint venture of Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT) and NBC Universal News (NYSE:GE).