Burt Herman Email & Phone Number

New York , New York, Us

Leading a global movement that unites journalists ("hacks") and technologists ("hackers") to shape the future of media and rebuild trust in our digital information ecosystem. What began as a grassroots community has grown into an influential force driving innovation at the intersection of journalism and technology.Key impacts:•Catalyze media innovation through strategic convenings, workshops and hackathons focusing on artificial intelligence, audience engagement and emerging technologies•Design and facilitate partnerships with major technology companies including Google, Meta and Mozilla to advance journalism innovation and combat disinformation•Foster a worldwide community that turns ideas into action - from product prototypes to new ventures that reimagine how we create and consume news•Champion the integration of human-centered design and technology ethics into journalism's digital transformationOur mission has never been more vital: ensuring technology serves democracy by bringing together diverse perspectives to solve journalism's biggest challenges.

Mountain View, Ca, Us

Coaching and mentoring founders of news startups, advice on content and business strategy, technology, audience development

Recruited as CEO to lead publishing technology company spun out of Alley Group, enabling independent newsrooms to build sustainable digital businesses combining modern publishing tools, subscription management and audience engagement features.•Led product strategy focusing on proven approaches for converting readers to paying supporters•Drove business development and partnerships to bring new publishers onto the platform

New York, Ny, Us

Led product development for digital products with some of the world's most respected media brands including The New Yorker, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Wired, Bon Appétit, GQ and more.•Spearheaded the rebuilding of the user identity platform for all the company's brands, offering an improved, unified experience for subscribers using modern authentication standards and passwordless login. This new identity product caused significant reduction in customer support complaints around login and password issues.•Created model for registration gate strategy measuring tradeoffs of advertising revenue vs. subscription gains, winning support across various departments with competing goals for more gated content to drive subscription conversions. Rolled out registration gates across brands in close collaboration with editorial and technology teams.•Experiments around community building and engagement on owned platforms, including with forums, comments, Mastodon•Managed high-performing product managers and product development teams building sites at massive scale

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Us

Helped establish a revolutionary model for sustaining local journalism: the first-of-its-kind nonprofit organization owning a major metropolitan newspaper (The Philadelphia Inquirer). As part of the founding team, shaped the Institute's strategy for reimagining how local news can thrive in the digital age.•Architected and led nationwide grant programs advancing product innovation and sustainable business models for both legacy newsrooms and startups•Created and directed the Lenfest Local Lab, an in-house innovation team building mobile-first prototypes for local news delivery and community engagement•Secured competitive Google News Initiative innovation funding in inaugural North American round•Designed and led industry-shaping convenings on critical topics including newsroom diversity, audience metrics and newsletter strategy•Served as interim Chief Product Officer for Philadelphia Media Network (Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News, Philly.com), driving digital transformation initiativesThe Institute demonstrated how philanthropic ownership combined with business and technological innovation could create a sustainable future for local news. Our work helped establish a new paradigm for preserving and strengthening essential local journalism, now replicated in other markets.

Hamburg, De

Advisor for early stage media startup accelerator funded by leading German publishers

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Advise startups working at the crossroads of technology and media in early-stage incubator

New York, Ny, Us

Co-teaching "New Business Models for News" with Prof. Jeff Jarvis, mentoring fellows at the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism

San Francisco, Ca, Us

Pioneered social media curation at a pivotal moment in digital journalism, creating a platform that transformed how newsrooms told stories through social media. Built Storify from concept to launch to growth and successful exit, establishing a new standard for real-time, collaborative storytelling that reached millions.Key achievements:•Grew platform to over 2 million users including major news organizations, brands and institutions, serving tens of millions of monthly readers•Raised venture funding from top Silicon Valley investors by articulating a vision for journalism's evolution in the social media era•Led product innovation that made social curation a mainstream journalism practice, empowering newsrooms to tell richer, more engaging stories•Built and led cross-functional team of engineers and designers through rapid iteration cycles, consistently shipping features that expanded platform capabilities•Secured partnerships with major media organizations and technology companies•Won multiple prestigious awards including Knight-Batten Award for Innovations in Journalism, SXSW Interactive Award for social media and Gannett Foundation Award for Technical Innovation•Following acquisition by Livefyre, served as VP for business development and strategic partnerships with leading technology and media companies, product evangelism, integration of Storify. Storify's impact extended beyond its platform, helping establish best practices for social media journalism that continue to influence how newsrooms operate today and pushing major social media platforms to build embeddable media and storytelling tools. Led company through acquisition by Livefyre (later Adobe).

Washington, Dc, Us

Stanford, Ca, Us

Selected for prestigious fellowship to explore how emerging technologies could transform journalism as digital media reshaped the information landscape.•Co-founded "Redesigning Journalism" workshop at Stanford d.school, integrating design thinking methodologies with journalism practice•Completed intensive design thinking boot camp, applying human-centered design and rapid prototyping to journalism challenges•Pursued focused study in entrepreneurship, digital product development and human-computer interactionThe fellowship served as an innovation laboratory where early ideas for both Storify and Hacks/Hackers took shape, leading directly to launching ventures that helped transform digital journalism.

New York, Ny, Us

Led coverage of North Korean nuclear crisis, recruiting and managing international team of journalists. Pioneered new approaches to reporting from world's most isolated nation, and conducted multimedia coverage throughout Asia-Pacific region of major news events.

New York, Ny, Us

Established new regional bureau in Uzbekistan following September 11 attacks, building coverage network across five Central Asian nations during period of dramatic change.•Led development of new bureau operations and regional news coverage strategy, reported across former Soviet Union•Embedded with U.S. Marines for 2003 Iraq War

New York, Ny, Us

Covered politics, business and culture in Germany, assignments across Europe.

New York, Ny, Us

Managed international news flow and coverage planning at AP's global news desk in New York, following reporting and editing roles in Detroit and Sacramento bureaus.

John S. Knight Fellowship For Journalists

M.A., Russian And East European Studies

B.A. With Honors, Political Science

Climate Change: Learning For Action Fellowship