Journal Register CFO Jeff Bairstow was named president of Digital First Media; Jim Brady becomes editor in chief, having previously served as the Journal Register's editor-in-chief, and David Butler, who headed MediaNews Group's California papers, is now executive editor of Digital First.
The three members of the Journal Register's journalism advisory board also become the advisory board for Digital First. They are well known media critics Jay Rosen of New York University's journalism program, CUNY professor and BuzzMachine blogger Jeff Jarvis, and Emily Bell of Columbia University's Tow Center for Digital Journalism.
Here's the memo announcing the changes:
Digital First Media, which jointly manages MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company, announced today the appointments of key executives in sales, content and operational positions.
“With today’s announcement we are putting into place the very best team to lead both MediaNews Group and Journal Register Company in implementing our Digital First strategy,” said John Paton, CEO of Digital First Media. “I am excited about the depth and breadth of talent we have assembled from both companies as we continue to work to serve our communities and growing audience. Like all legacy media companies making this important transition to Digital, we have a long way to go to fulfill that promise. Today marks an important first step.”
Jeff Bairstow was named President of Digital First Media. Mr. Bairstow, joined Journal Register Company in 2010 and was, until recently, Journal Register Company’s Chief Financial Officer. In his new role, Mr. Bairstow – who was also named President of MediaNews Group – will oversee daily operations across Journal Register Company and MediaNews Group.
“We have a tremendous opportunity to leverage the knowledge of these two companies – both in traditional journalism and digital product development – into a unified leadership team that will drive the necessary digital transformation to power our growth,” said Mr. Bairstow.
Ron Mayo was named Chief Financial Officer of Digital First Media. Mr. Mayo will retain his duties as CFO of MediaNews Group in addition to his new role.
Named as Executive Vice Presidents of Digital First Media were:
- Jerry Grilly, who will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Denver Post; Steve Rossi, who is responsible for the company’s California operations; and Tom Wiley, who has served as a group publisher for Journal Register Company.
- Arturo Duran, who joined Journal Register Company in 2010 as Executive Vice President for Digital, was named Chief Digital Officer.
- Kirk MacDonald, who has served as The Denver Post’s Executive Vice President of Advertising, Marketing and Digital Sales since July 2009, was named Executive Vice President of Sales. Adam Burnham, who has served as Journal Register Company’s Vice President of Local Sales, was named Senior Vice President of Local Digital Sales.
- William Higginson, who has worked for Journal Register Company since its founding and most recently served as President, was named Executive Vice President of Operations.
Jim Brady, who was named Journal Register Company’s Editor-in-Chief earlier this year, was named Editor-in-Chief of Digital First Media. David J. Butler, who has served as Vice President of News for MediaNews Group and Editor of the San Jose Mercury News, was named Executive Editor.
Named as Vice Presidents of Digital First Media were: Jonathan Cooper, who recently served as Vice President of Content for Journal Register Company; Sara Glines, who recently served as Vice President of Field Operations for MediaNews Group; and Joe Miller, who has served as Journal Register Company’s Vice President for Real Estate, was named Vice President for Real Estate.
Bob Mason, who has served as Journal Register Company’s Chief Technology Officer since 2010, has been named Chief Technology Officer for Digital First Media.
Robert Monteleone, who has served Chief Human Resources Officer for Journal Register Company, was named Chief Human Resources Officer for Digital First Media.
Along with the management appointments, Mr. Paton also announced appointments to the Digital First Media Advisory Board. Named to the Advisory Board were:
- Jeff Jarvis, Associate Professor and Director of the Interactive Journalism program and the new business models for news project at the City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism.
- Emily Bell, Director of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.
- Jay Rosen, Ph.D, professor and former chair of the journalism program at New York University.
Mr. Jarvis, Ms. Bell and Mr. Rosen had previously served as members of Journal Register Company’s Advisory Board.
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37 comments:
Our career and personal lamentations notwithstanding, this is the correct approach at this time in the post-print era.
The usual addiction to massive overstaffing at the top.
These are the same group of morons that helped to destroy newspapers across the country. What makes them qualified to run the digital business, unless they are hell bent on running the digital business into the rocks. They need new blood, not 60 year old has beens with ink stained sleeves.
@ 10:58 PM - agreed. All the buddy buddies keep themselves at the top with high salaries letting the real workers died off slowly
only at a singleton company would someone as talentless and personally repulsive as dave butler have a career.
But I'm not bitter.
only an ex-daily news staffer would think that adding "but i'm not bitter" to someone's proudly bitter and nasty comment was somehow witty or funny.
well, i am not an ex daily news staffer, didn't write the comment, and i thought it was funny. funny because, that is what this company breeds...division and no loyalty. a communication company who doesn't.
The people at the bottom are the ones that matter. Not these people. All this means nothing.
The people at tye bottom dont matter to these clowns. one of the many reasons they are in the position they are in. ready to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
Wow, 6:44. Such original thinking, and wordsmanship. You've got a future in this business.
I don't know, there's kind of a rap cadence to it.
The people at tye bottom/
dont matter to these clowns/
one of many reasons/
they messed up LANG town./
The people at the top/
in the position they are in/
ready to snatch defeat/
from jaws of firstdigitalin.'
It's hard to rhyme with the word tye.
Boy, you crack journalists seem to think everyone who works for a newspaper, did work for a newspaper, should all bow to your brilliance. Thank you for your creativity and your wit. I know the newspaper future is in good hands.
Yep, that's what we think. Especially the bowing, a big motivator. RT@jaws, snatch, defeat, victory, future, a communication company who doesn't, all of it.
good for you!
Must be a little slice of heaven going to work there every day.
Sure, if you can stand being bowed to all the time. It's flattering at first, but I'm not sure how sincere it is.
5:47 is right. Probably not one of the emotionally fragile newsroom divas that got fired and now put together Patch newsletters. It's always a slice of heaven being a working journalist. It's still a cool job - cooler than being a non-working journalist. Or a working flak. Or a bitter blog troll.
The middle managers here sure are getting big and tough sounding, by-golly!
Go girls!
sounds like the bitter troll bloggers are all still working for lang. that explains a lot. keep up the great work.
"Cool jobs?" That's what we care about? The fact that we can go clubbing with our buddies and brag about working at "journalism" on a chain of papers that is barely alive? Working in a company run by some of the biggest ethically compromised corporate slobs in the field?
Wow, "Cool jobs."
Well, honey, I'm still a working journalist and I still have a "cool job." But there is much more to good, ethical and valuable journalism than having a "cool job."
Bitter? Nope, I'm a realist, something you know little or nothing about. You dear "managers" who post here, bragging about your superficial design projects that you call "newspapers," are drinking much too much company Kool-Aid.
Bon appetit!
I don't know, seems like a pretty cool job to me, meeting people and covering fires and elections and stuff. I would do it. Why do you think it's not a cool job?
Bor-ing!
3:08 needs a Xanax. Or a man.
Make that Rohypnol, 7:42, and I'll take you too, you big beautiful hunk of a sexy journalist you!
I think journalist is a cool job. Hey, if someone's happy to sacrifice their financial security to cover community news, good on them. But there's nothing cool about working for LANG. Journalism doesn't happen there. The company doesn't value it, and the staff that remains is either too young and dumb to know how to tell a story or too pissed off and fed up with all the bullshit to care.
I wonder what the Vegas odds makers think about the future success of this company. Long odds indeed.
Wow, 3:34. That's the best you've got?
8:04, now you are a critic on comments?
You can't beat being a journalist - it's gotten me more A** than the only working toilet at a diarrhea convention. Chicks dig the allure of what we represent and although im not handsome, my stock was raised 1000% when i started carring the pen and note pad. Wish those upper management types realized this and got some themselves before its all over, bunch of viagra poppin a-wipes
I understand that you couldn't get lucky at a hooker's convention.
I guess theres a special kind of woman who digs an admittedly homely adolescent potty mouth with a notepad, unless your a lonely admittedly homely adolescent potty mouth whose just making up the part about getting women.
Too bad, really too bad, you got laid off, so to speak.
RE: 1:39, 6:009, 6:12 - U "yessir" brown-nosed lackeys are just jealous cause I do get as much A as I want, whenever I want, specially when I cover those college games. And I have never paid for it, like you guys do at the Spearmit Rhino every Friday night, while I'm getting some up in the press-box, for free.
eritraiWow and double wow. An ugly journalist who gets lucky with women with the runs. That should get a whole new flock of aspiring talent in the industry. You might be the perfect one to answer this, does s--t roll down hill?gazonic
Re 7:37 PM, fake sex written about by a fake sports writer faking getting fake sex.
Thanks for the great information you share on this post.
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