Danielle Belton, the editor in chief of The Root, will be the new editor in chief of HuffPost, BuzzFeed’s chief executive, Jonah Peretti, told staff on Wednesday.
Ms. Belton, 43, will start in her new role on April 12, Mr. Peretti said in an internal email to that was viewed by The New York Times. Her appointment was reported earlier by The Daily Beast.
In his email, Mr. Peretti said BuzzFeed had begun its search for a new top HuffPost editor after it announced in November that it was acquiring the website.
“Our priorities were to find a leader who had a clear and formidable long-term version for HuffPost, and would champion its urgent, compelling and far-reaching journalism,” he wrote.
Ms. Belton was the first editor in chief of The Root, the Black news and culture website owned by G/O Media. She has written and edited for publications including theGrio, Essence, The Washington Post and The Times.
Mr. Peretti said that he and BuzzFeed’s editor in chief, Mark Schoofs, offered Ms. Belton the job last week, and that Ms. Belton would report to Mr. Schoofs.
The announcement comes two weeks after BuzzFeed laid off 47 HuffPost employees and closed the publication’s Canadian edition.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nytimes.com
