BuzzFeed News names new editor-in-chief

BuzzFeed News on Tuesday announced Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Schoofs would be its next editor-in-chief.

Schoofs, a visiting professor at the University of Southern California’s (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, will officially start on May 18 and will be based in Los Angeles, according to a release from BuzzFeed. 

The incoming editor-in-chief created BuzzFeed News’s investigations team in 2014. 

“I’m thrilled to come back to BuzzFeed News,” Schoofs said. “Its journalists — tough, rigorous, and fearless — are the best in the world, hands down.”

Schoofs had previously won a Pulitzer Prize for reporting on AIDS in Africa at The Village Voice and shared another Pulitzer Prize at The Wall Street Journal for reporting on the 9/11 terrorist attacks. 

“I’m so excited to welcome Mark back to BuzzFeed, because I know how deeply committed he is to ensuring that BuzzFeed News remains the best place on the internet for free, high quality news, and reaches even greater heights,” BuzzFeed founder and CEO Jonah Peretti said in the release. 

“I’m also confident, even during these tough times, that BuzzFeed News will be in the best possible hands under Mark’s leadership,” he said.

Schoofs will continue to teach at the USC Annenberg School.