NEW YORK & DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Storyful, the world’s first social news agency, announced leadership changes on the eve of the 1st anniversary of its acquisition by News Corp.
Rahul Chopra will become Chief Executive Officer, with Founder and CEO Mark Little taking on the newly created role of Director of Editorial Innovation. Mr. Chopra previously served as Chief Revenue Officer and SVP, Global Head of Video for News Corp. The changes are effective immediately.
“Storyful is both a symbol of our digital and global aspirations and a substantive contributor to them,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp, which announced its acquisition of Storyful on December 20, 2013. “We will have twin pillars of development, with Rahul leading our fast-growing commercial operations and Mark continuing to drive our expanding editorial ambitions. Storyful has already become the global standard for verified content for newsrooms, while more businesses are leveraging Storyful's expertise to help them navigate the complex world of social media.”
“Sitting as it does at the intersection of technology and journalism, I can personally think of no more exciting place to be,” said Mr. Chopra. “I am looking forward to leading this enterprising Storyful team to the next level, with Mark building on his pioneering efforts in creating the company and its innovative approach to leveraging social media.”
“Rahul and I have been planning this change for some time,” said Mr. Little “It reflects the proven success of Storyful’s integration with News Corp and the growth in our ambitions for the years ahead. We now have a world-class team across three continents and I have my dream job, part of a team building the most innovative company on a rapidly changing media landscape.”
Mr. Little will continue to serve as the primary “ambassador” for Storyful, and shape the company’s thought-leadership in the news industry.
Storyful has experienced substantial growth in its year with News Corp. In April, Storyful partnered with Facebook for the launch of FB Newswire (http://www.facebook.com/FBNewswire), a resource that makes it easier for journalists and newsrooms to find, share and embed newsworthy content from Facebook in the media they produce.
Over the summer, videos identified and promoted by Storyful reached one billion total views on YouTube. In November, the Facebook-Storyful partnership launched FB Techwire, a resource of hot topics and important stories for tech journalists. Also last month, Storyful launched Trendswire, a service that alerts clients to the most compelling and significant trends just as they begin to gain traction online.
During the year, Storyful also expanded its technical, editorial and sales operation, resulting in more than a doubling of its staff size. Storyful recently announced an investment from Ireland’s Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation that will help bolster the company’s Dublin headquarters as it enhances its technology infrastructure through creation of a dedicated R&D center. In addition to Dublin and New York, Storyful also has an office in Hong Kong.
Prior to his role at News Corp, Mr. Chopra launched and oversaw video globally across Dow Jones, including WSJ Live, The Wall Street Journal’s video initiative. He also held several roles within business development at Dow Jones, primarily focusing on the Journal’s video, mobile and tablet expansion strategy, as well as developing external strategic partnerships to expand reach and distribution. Before joining Dow Jones, he worked in corporate finance at Morgan Stanley and Bank of New York.
Mr. Little launched Storyful in 2010 after a long career as a journalist with Ireland’s national radio and television broadcaster, RTE.
Storyful uses advanced proprietary technology combined with expert journalism to monitor the web in real-time, verify relevant content, separate fact from fiction and ensure that speed and accuracy go hand-in-hand. Storyful clients worldwide can take full advantage of this unique blend of technology and journalism.
About Storyful
Storyful, a division of News Corp, is the first news agency of the social media age. Founded in 2010 and based in Dublin, Ireland, Storyful comprises a team of technologists and journalists across Asia, Europe and the United States who discover, verify, acquire and distribute timely and relevant video and user-generated content to newsrooms, advertisers and brands. Via proprietary technology and journalistic expertise, Storyful provides social media dashboards, real-time discovery tools, feeds and analytics to customers across multiple platforms. Storyful was acquired by News Corp in December 2013.
