Yahoo hires newspaper veteran
The arrival of Neil Budde, founding editor of The Wall Street Journal Online, signals the Net giant's growing interest in original content.
Budde, who will begin his position at Yahoo on Nov. 15, was the founding editor and publisher of The Wall Street Journal Online edition. Budde ran the majority of the operations for WSJ.com and was behind the decision to turn it into a subscription-only site.
Neil Budde
Yahoo spokeswoman Joanna Stevens declined to elaborate on Budde's role at the company.
Prior to WSJ.com, Budde was editorial director of Dow Jones News/Retrieval and held reporting and editing positions at a number of newspapers, including USA Today and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.
The hiring of Budde underscores Yahoo's heightened interest in original content. The company recently hired TV veteran Lloyd Braun, who developed shows such as "The Sopranos," "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives," to run its media and entertainment operations. Braun will focus on courting Hollywood producers to develop online programming exclusively for Yahoo.
Yahoo also has been rumored to be a suitor of financial news site MarketWatch. While the company has remained mum about the discussions, its consideration of acquiring MarketWatch raises questions about Yahoo's future as a content creator.
Up until now, Yahoo has largely operated as an aggregator of content. Its news and finance sites use feeds from syndication services, such as the Associated Press, Reuters and AFP, as well as newspapers such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Budde will replace former Yahoo News General Manager Chris McGill, who left last month. McGill did not come from an editorial background.