Industry Moves: Neil Budde Leaving Yahoo; Khemlani Expands Role To Include News
By Staci D. Kramer - Tue 11 Dec 2007 11:17 AM PST
Last week, when I checked with Neil Budde and inside Yahoo (NSDQ: YHOO) after Valleywag floated the idea that he was leaving, I was told that wasn’t the case. But the situation changed following internal discussions about the Yahoo News vet’s position on Scott Moore’s new org chart—turns out there really wasn’t one for his most recent role of editor-in-chief across news, sports and finance—and Budde, who contributed considerably to the improvements of the past few years, is on his way out. I’m told Moore wanted everything in each vertical to report up through the business side, not have a second track for editorial or to have editorial cross verticals. Budde, former publisher of WSJ.com, joined Yahoo in late 2004 as GM for news; he switched to the E-I-C role for the three verticals last January.
-- Neeraj Khemlani, head of original programming, takes over news editorial, reporting to Yahoo News GM Alan Warms; Warms joined in September after Yahoo acquired his company, BuzzTracker.
Moore’s org chart following the expansion of his responsibilities to include entertainment: Entertainment, Karin Gilford; News, Alan Warms; Finance, Mark Interrante; Sports, James Pitaro; Lifestyles (including Autos and Real Estate) - Amy Iorio/Michal Yang; Video Initiatives and Media Applications - Ian Rogers. Sports editorial and Finance editorial will report to the respective GMs.
Update: I heard from Neil Budde via e-mail a few hours after the announcement was made internally. From his note: “I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished with Yahoo! News over the past three years and know that News, Finance and Sports will continue to do great things. I’m proudest of the many top-notch journalists who’ve come to work for Yahoo! in that period and the high standard they’ve set. It’s satisfying to be No. 1 in all three categories, but even more satisfying to do it with class and credibility and with respect for our users and our partners.” Budde said he is “exploring a number of options in online media but nothing specific to report at the moment.”
Disclaimer: ContentNext Media, our parent company, has a syndication relationship with Yahoo Finance.
