Brian Howard

WSM has learned that Brian Howard will take over the newly created position of Social Media Editor for LoHud.com and The Journal News. Howard, who has worked at LoHud for 12 years, has served as Yorktown Reporter since 2006.

“We’ve had a social media presence, but (now) a commitment has been made to have someone managing the organization’s social media all the time,” said Howard. “It (social media) can no longer be secondary — it’s a full-time job.”

Howard will begin his position Monday, March 5. He said he will be working with the company’s editors, staff and its community, and that he will handle a variety of responsibilities, including using social media for research and investigative purposes.

“I’ll be sitting in at all the news meetings, manning the social media presences of the paper and interacting,” Howard said. “We would be missing a lot of opportunities if we didn’t use it to interact. We’re not just looking to get more eyeballs.”

Howard said he’s looking forward to his new responsibilities, and that he’d be better equipped to answer more questions after he’s been on the job for a couple of weeks.

We’ll check back soon…