Apple hires veteran media exec as ‘head of news business’

Apple has hired Liz Schimel, a veteran media exec who previously served as president of Conde Nast China, “another sign of the increasing importance of Apple’s news operation, which has become a significant source of traffic for many media organizations at a time when Facebook is placing less emphasis on news,” notes The Information. 

She’ll serve as Apple’s “head of news business,” probably Apple News. News is a mobile app and news aggregator for iOS devices and, starting with macOS Mojave, the Mac. 

In addition to working at Condé Nast, whose magazine titles include Vogue, GQ, and Self, Schimel was an entrepreneur-in-residence at Comcast Ventures and chief digital officer at media conglomerate Meredith Corp. She has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from Wharton Business School.

In May Apple began paying publishers to unveil shows on Apple News first, reports DigiDay. The article says the deal epitomizes Apple’s push to get higher-quality, longer videos on Apple News, which 59.9 million people in the U.S. used in March, per comScore. And in June Apple announced a new 2018 Midterm Elections section in Apple News, offering a resource for midterm election information in the United States.