Facebook Hires Former TV Journalist Campbell Brown to Lead News Partnerships Team

Facebook is turning to a former television news journalist to help smooth over its strained ties to the news media, which views it as both a vital partner and a potentially devastating opponent. It has hired Campbell Brown, a former NBC News correspondent and CNN prime-time host, to lead its news partnerships team, starting immediately.

The position is a new one for Facebook. In the role, Brown will “help news organizations and journalists work more closely and more effectively with Facebook,” she wrote. The addition of Brown comes as Facebook is struggling with its position as a content provider that does not produce its own content — that is, as a platform, not a media company.