An editorial director is a bit different from a corporate communications person. Many/most VC firms (indeed, many/most companies in general) are now looking to attract audiences of their own rather then rely on the eyeballs gathered around new sites.
That is an interesting possibility, I think yes, they will do that. It's like a more glorious version of pg's essays... except more strategically thought of (as you would expect from a large company).
Probably doesn't hurt to have a huge network of important contacts though :), the need arrives at unexpected times.
First Round Review is a good example: http://firstround.com/review/
Or, go to a16z's homepage: it's all home-grown content! The company hired Sonal Chokshi from Wired to actually be an editor -- not a PR person.