NEW YORK, NY -- 08/04/08 --
The Newspaper Consortium, a joint venture of
30 major newspaper companies, today announced the appointment of Michael A.
Silver as executive director, a new position. Since its formation in 2006,
the Newspaper Consortium has excelled at joining member newspapers'
unmatched local news and deep local advertising relationships with Yahoo!'s
leading technologies and extensive online audience.
Effectively immediately, Silver will report to the Newspaper Consortium
Board of Directors and Executive Committee and begin developing new
opportunities for the Consortium across the digital media landscape, as
well as to grow the Consortium's existing relationship with Yahoo! across
content and advertising.
Silver will act in an advisory capacity to help member companies maximize
revenue and take on the role of public spokesperson and representative for
the Newspaper Consortium. Silver will also be responsible for the
management and oversight of the agreements between the Newspaper
Consortium's member companies and Yahoo! and serve as the central point of
contact with Yahoo! for members regarding the operation of these
agreements.
"Mike is widely respected across the broad media landscape because of his
success developing and executing a wide range of innovative digital media
initiatives," said George Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers and
chairman of the Newspaper Consortium Board of Directors. "Mike's energy and
passion for media innovation round out his credentials to make him the
perfect fit to lead the Newspaper Consortium."
Silver joins the Newspaper Consortium after more than two decades with
Tribune Company. During his tenure with Tribune, Silver led a diverse set
of development efforts across the breadth of the company, including
Tribune's initial investment in AOL and many of Tribune's interactive
content and marketing programs. Most recently, as an independent consultant
Silver developed online listings applications for the entertainment
products division of Tribune Media Services. Prior to that, Silver was vice
president of corporate development for Tribune Company, focusing on next
generation media opportunities and assisting local business units in
development and management of wireless and online video projects. Silver
began his media career as a reporter and editor, working for the Miami
Herald, Orlando Sentinel, Dow Jones and WPBT-TV in Miami.
Yahoo!'s partnership with the Newspaper Consortium is comprised of 30
companies that represent 779 local newspapers -- a number that's equivalent
to 32 percent of all U.S. dailies and 41 percent of all U.S. Sunday
circulation. The innovative partnership spans multiple initiatives,
including the distribution of high-quality newspaper content across Yahoo!
Network, the adoption of Yahoo! search on newspaper sites,
cross-selling of advertising and the use of Yahoo!'s new display ad
platform, which will enable Newspaper Consortium members to better target
ads to specific audiences, as well as more easily and efficiently package
greater amounts of inventory from across the network. Through the content
distribution initiative, Yahoo! has driven more than 100 million page views
to member newspapers sites. Most newspapers are also affiliates of Yahoo!
HotJobs, the premier recruitment advertising portal. The Newspaper
Consortium has sold millions of dollars of employment advertising onto
Yahoo! HotJobs; this powerful partnership has made it the number one or two
most trafficked job site in the majority of the newspapers' communities.
"The Newspaper Consortium is helping local papers expand the scope and
reach of their online services and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to
help lead it," Silver said. "The partnership with Yahoo! gives newspapers
great tools to serve local advertisers and readers and I'm looking forward
to a strong rollout of innovative services in markets across the country."
About the Newspaper Consortium
Newspaper Consortium members are: A.H. Belo Corporation, Bakersfield
Californian, Black Press, Buffalo News, Calkins Media, Inc., Columbus
Dispatch, The Columbian Publishing Company, Cox Newspapers, The Day
Publishing Company, The E.W. Scripps Company, GateHouse Media, Inc., Hearst
Newspapers, Herald Media, Inc., Journal Register Company, Journal Sentinel,
Lee Enterprises, McClatchy Company, Media General, Inc., MediaNews Group,
Inc., Morris Communications Company LLC, New York Daily News, New York
Times Regional Group, Paddock Publications Inc, Paxton Media Group,
Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, Shaw Newspapers, Sun Times News Group,
Times-Shamrock Communications, The Times Publishing Company and the Tribune
Review Publishing Company.
The newspapers represented by the Newspaper Consortium include major market
dailies such as The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Boston Herald,
Chicago Sun-Times, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), The Dallas Morning
News, The Denver Post, The Florida Times-Union, Houston Chronicle, Las
Vegas Review Journal, Miami Herald, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, New Haven
Register, The Philadelphia Daily News, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Rocky
Mountain News, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Sacramento Bee, San Francisco
Chronicle, San Jose Mercury News and The Tampa Tribune.
