LA Times Gets New Publisher -- WSJ
22 August 2017 - 5:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Lukas I. Alpert
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (August 22, 2017).
Tronc Inc. is undergoing a broad management shake-up at its
flagship newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, bringing in internet and
media industry veteran Ross Levinsohn as its new chief executive
and publisher.
Mr. Levinsohn, who was an interim CEO at Yahoo and had a top
role at Fox Interactive Media, replaces Davan Maharaj, a 28-year
veteran of the Times, Tronc announced on Monday. Mr. Maharaj had
been named publisher in 2016 in addition to his role as editor in
chief as Tronc moved to consolidate the roles across its 11 daily
newspapers.
Several other senior editors at the paper were also dismissed,
the LA Times reported.
Jim Kirk, who until recently had served as publisher and editor
in chief of the Chicago Sun-Times until being hired by Tronc
earlier this month following a failed acquisition bid, was named
interim executive editor to spearhead the search for a new editor
in chief, the company said.
The moves highlight the central role the Times has played for
Tronc in its efforts to digitally transform a company that over the
years has endured a long-running bankruptcy, a spinoff, an ugly
shareholder fight and a spurned takeover effort by rival Gannett
Co.
All this while, the newspaper industry has suffered dramatic
declines in print advertising and slow growth in digital ad revenue
as readership has shifted online.
"We haven't really progressed to where we need to be," said
Tronc Chief Executive Justin Dearborn. "Ross is pretty unique in
the market, and he has background and history of executing digital
transformations."
Mr. Levinsohn also served as CEO of Guggenheim Digital Media for
a period after his term at Yahoo, where he was succeeded by Marissa
Mayer in 2012. While working for News Corp.'s Fox digital
properties in the early 2000s, he oversaw the acquisition of
Myspace and helped create the company that is now Hulu. (Since
then, 21st Century Fox split with News Corp, owner of The Wall
Street Journal, in 2013.)
In a statement, Tronc said Mr. Levinsohn will be tasked with
expanding the Times' global footprint, content initiatives and
revenue opportunities, among other things.
Tronc, which had previously been known as Tribune Publishing Co.
until June 2016, has pushed hard toward reinventing itself as a
digitally-focused media company, but has struggled to find its
footing amid dramatic changes to the media landscape online.
Earlier this month, the company reported a 9% drop in digital ad
revenue in the second quarter from a year earlier. It has boosted
its digital-only subscriber totals across its titles to 220,000,
but remains far behind big publishers like the New York Times and
the Journal.
At the same time, the company has battled through a period of
turbulent management since being spun off in 2014 from TV assets
now called Tribune Media Co. In early 2016, it brought in investor
Michael Ferro to help shore up its books, but he quickly
orchestrated a management takeover, forcing out its CEO and much of
its board.
He then fended off the takeover effort by Gannett, in part, by
bringing in billionaire biotech entrepreneur, Dr. Patrick
Soon-Shiong, as an investor. The two have since engaged in a public
shareholder battle for control.
Tronc has tried to re-envision itself as "a content curation and
monetization company" built around machine vision and artificial
intelligence technology to forge a path into a digital future --
efforts that have faced criticism both within and outside the
company.
Write to Lukas I. Alpert at lukas.alpert@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 22, 2017 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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