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Elisabeth Murdoch's drive to expand her Shine TV company took another step forward today, as she launched a new production firm for the Facebook generation, combining traditional programming with online social networking.
Murdoch is hiring Joanna Shields, former boss of networking website Bebo, to be chief executive of the as-yet-unnamed company.
Shields is also joining the group advisory board of Primrose-Hill based Shine, makers of hit TV shows such as Masterchef, Ashes to Ashes and Ugly Betty.
Murdoch and Shields plan new TV shows which will use "real-time" online conversations and "location-aware" devices, such as mobile phones, to increase user participation and generate revenue.
While at Bebo, Shields created drama series Kate Modern, one of the first TV shows aimed solely at an internet audience.
Murdoch, daughter of media mogul Rupert, founded Shine in 2001 and has built one of the UK's biggest independent TV production companies through a series of acquisitions.
Murdoch and American-born Shields have collaborated before, notably on a UK fundraising efforts for Barack Obama in the US Presidential race last year.
