Newsy.com hires editorial VP, advisor

by David Reed

November 3,2009

Newsy.com, an online video news service based in Columbia, has hired former St. Louis Post-Dispatch and STLtoday.com Managing Editor Pam Maples as vice president of editorial.

The company, which began operating 13 months ago, also hired Jim Flink, weekend news anchor ad reporter for Kansas City's ABC affiliate KMBC-TV, as an editorial advisor.

Both Maples and Flink are graduates of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, as is Jim Spencer, Newsy's President and CEO. The company is located a block away from the J-School, and students help put together the video newscasts.

The Post-Dispatch won several national awards for online and video news during Maples' term as managing editor. Maples previously was assistant managing editor of investigations at The Dallas Morning News, where she was part of a reporting team that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.

Maple replaces George Schellenger, who was Newsy.com's vice president for production and content before leaving the company earlier this year.

Flink received his master's degree from MU's School of Journalism and won a regional Emmy for spot news coverage. He also anchored the newscast that won the National Edward R. Murrow Award in 2008.

Newsy.com is a local multi-source online video news service that monitors, analyzes and presents national and international news coverage. The news outlet produces video segments of 2 to 3 minutes in length that are available on the Internet and delivered to mobile devices.