• February 2, 2012

Former New York Times digital media reporter and columnist Virginia Heffernan has joined Yahoo as a national correspondent, covering culture and politics from “a digital perspective.” Yahoo says Heffernan will cover a range of topics from  how the 2012 presidential campaign plays out online to how social issues are shifting in a digital age.

The hiring is the latest move by the Web portal to gear up coverage for the 2012 election and its news operation more broadly. Last April Yahoo opened a Washington news bureau and in October the Internet giant announced an alliance with ABC News for joint national news coverage and programming.