How Semafor is redefining the head of video role

Semafor technically had had a head of video before Adam Banicki stepped into the role this summer. But the role has changed with Banicki’s appointment. Instead of being strictly a newsroom role, Banicki’s position spans the editorial and business sides of Semafor.“I feel like I have like a really fun job where I get to talk to Ben [Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor] every day about all the things that are going on in the newsroom, but then taking back a lot of that almost like programming to the commercial side and saying like, ’What can we do with this? How do we build out a revenue model?’” Banicki said during a live recording of the Digiday Podcast on Sept. 16 at the Digiday Publishing Summit in Key Biscayne, Florida.As Semafor’s head of video, Banicki reports directly to Smith but “with a dotted line to Rachel Oppenheim, our chief commercial officer,” he said. In addition to developing video programming ideas with Semafor’s newsroom, he collaborates with its commercial staff.“My first three months, I think, was really getting involved in the commercial side, helping shaping go-to-market decks, thinking about pricing strategy, joining kickoff calls to help close deals that were tied to video,” said Banicki.Soon his day-to-day duties will likely skew more toward video production. In October, Semafor will launch a new show focused on technology and hosted by its tech editor Reed Albergotti. That will bring Semafor’s portfolio to four shows, with plans to develop a daily news show “very soon,” said Banicki.