ProPublica announced Wednesday that Tyson Evans will join its staff as the organization’s first chief product and brand officer. In this position, he will use his extensive newsroom experience on both the business and editorial sides to oversee the vision and execution of ProPublica’s publishing platforms, including its websites, mobile apps and newsletters, as well as its public outreach efforts. ProPublica is in the midst of drafting its first strategic plan, and he will also help lead that work.
Evans comes to ProPublica from The New York Times, where he started in 2008 as deputy editor, designer and developer for interactive news, leading an industry-first team of developer-journalists who built data-driven web apps on deadline. In the nearly 14 years since, he has held a wide range of roles at the Times across journalism, product development, operations, strategic planning, business development and audience development.
In his most recent position of senior product manager, trust and credibility, he led a cross-functional team that focused on innovative ways to increase credibility and deepen audience trust. Before that, as director for opinion products and strategy, Evans shaped commentary and debate, serving as a strategic and operational partner to editors, columnists and contributors, and launched podcasts, newsletters, events and visual journalism initiatives.
Evans was also a founding member of the newsroom strategy team, which was created to guide the Times’ transformation from its print-centric past to a digital and subscription-first future. Among other initiatives, he helped create an audience development team and co-authored the “2020 Report” outlining the newsroom’s strategy and aspirations. In this role he ensured that the newsroom kept pace with the needs and habits of its diversifying audience, fueling the growth of its subscription business.
Evans has taught at Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism, The New School and Stanford’s d.school. Before the Times, he worked at the Las Vegas Sun and the Los Angeles Times. He will start at ProPublica on June 21.
