Broadcasting and Cable Editor-in-Chief Ben Grossman announced today he has joined Twitter’s media team as the Head of Global Operations. “Ben will lead our media marketing and operations,” explains Twitter’s Chloe Sladden, who runs the media team. “I am both honored and excited,” Grossman said in a tweet, adding that Melissa Gregor is taking over the trade mag as editor in chief.
This is Twitter’s latest move to deepen its investment in TV, which is largely a relationship-driven industry. Grossman has worked at Broadcasting & Cable since 2005, and his digital rolodex is packed full of contacts from years of reporting and speaking. Sladden, who comes from a TV background, also hired Fred Graver earlier this year — a 30-year TV veteran on the creative side, working for MTV, Travel Channel, The Disney Channel and even as a writer on the TV show Cheers.
In a speech last month, Graver said he’s focused on developing Twitter as both a “live TV companion” and a kind of “live TV guide,” as well as beginning to think of “the Twitter rating as a new kind of TV rating.” Combined with Twitter’s current curation efforts around big TV events, it looks like the Twitter Media team has plenty on its plate for months to come.