NBC’s Today has added two executives for digital.
Former CNN Great Big Story vp Ashley Codianni is joining NBC as executive editor of Today Digital, and Missy Dunlop Parsons is being promoted to executive producer of Today All Day, the morning show’s 24/7 lifestyle streaming channel.
In this new role, Codianni will manage the Today.com editorial and social teams, working in tandem with the Today broadcast team to highlight programming across all our digital platforms.
Codianni likely received a recommendation from NBC News Digital chief Chris Berend, who, before joining NBC in 2019, had been CNN’s svp of global video and who co-founded Great Big Story in 2015.
Dunlop Parsons, on the other hand, has been a part of the Today family for more than two decades in various roles, including as digital senior producer, producer and booker. She has worked across the country for NBC in New York, Washington, and Los Angeles. In this role, she will continue to lead Today All Day, working with broadcast to find ways to bring the linear and streaming brands even closer.
Both women will report to Today show chief Libby Leist.
Speaking of Leist, here’s her internal memo to staff, obtained by TVNewser:
Team –
Across all platforms, TODAY is off to a fantastic start to the year. On broadcast, we continue to be #1 in the all-important demo, while snagging recent across-the-board wins, and our digital presence is stronger than ever. Our digital audience has grown tremendously to more than 50 million unique viewers each month. Our Shop TODAY brand is serving audiences and our business like never before, and TODAY All Day continues to grow in streaming viewership.
This growth and success is no doubt thanks to the digital team’s stellar journalism, innovative cross-platform video initiatives and creative social media presence, spearheaded by Ashley Parrish’s leadership. As she takes on a new role as SVP, Commerce for the News Group, I’m pleased to share with you two new appointments:
Beginning Monday, Ashley Codianni will join the team as Executive Editor of TODAY Digital reporting to me. Most recently, Ashley served as VP of Brand and Digital Strategy at CNN’s “Great Big Story,” where she led the development and management of strategies across platforms to grow and scale new audiences. Prior to that, she was EP of Social and Emerging Media for CNN, leading all the social publishing, social discovery and social tv teams worldwide. Ashley comes to us with more than a decade of experience in native digital and social storytelling. She has also served in roles at Mashable and NowThis and is thrilled to be coming back to where she started her career at NBC.
In this role, Ashley will manage the TODAY.com editorial and social teams, working in tandem with the TODAY broadcast team to highlight our programming across all our digital platforms. Ashley will be tasked with bringing the TODAY brand to new digital and social audiences and building habit among a future generation of TODAY consumers. She will also work closely with our Commerce team to bring editorial support to our fast-growing Shop TODAY efforts, and with the rest of Chris’ organization to ensure TODAY is a significant part of our News Group digital strategy.
Additionally, Melissa Dunlop Parsons will become Executive Producer, TODAY All Day, also reporting to me. Missy has been a part of the TODAY family for more than two decades in various roles, including as digital senior producer, producer and booker. She has worked across the country for NBC in NY, DC and Los Angeles. Missy and her team have done a fantastic job of launching the lifestyle streaming network for our brand, which keeps growing and innovating each month. In this role, she will continue to lead TODAY All Day, working with broadcast to find cohesive ways to bring the linear and streaming brands even closer.
Please join me in welcoming Ashley and congratulating Missy.
Libby
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