Hello, Gannett directors! I've got your next CEO

Of course, he looks familiar! You made the mistake of listening to Doug McCorkindale and reaching the crazy conclusion that Tom Curley (left), publisher of USA Today at the time, wasn't fit to be Gannett's next CEO.

Well, Curley left in 2003 to become CEO of The Associated Press. Earlier this year, he told the New York Times that he quit Gannett to "participate fully in the digital change in the media."

So, board members, you hired Craig Dubow, thinking a television guy was better than print. But it's clear that Curley is quite the Web 2.0 guy after all. I mean, just today, in a good Q&A with paidContent on trends he's seeing, Curley said:

"One is that you really have to embrace the Web 2.0 free distribution that goes beyond a site; I’ve been saying that for years. The other aspect is that everybody’s business model is in a different place . . . and there needs to be a lot of experimentation and a lot of innovation on these business models . . . pretty clearly, ad targeting and CPM (cost per thousand) revenue streams around behavioral advertising have a lot of appeal."

I didn't hear anyone on the current leadership team talking about stuff like this at yesterday's UBS media conference. That was the event where the top brass was supposed to reassure influential media stock analysts about GCI's digital strategy. Instead, they just sounded out of gas. (I know, because I listened to the entire event. Did any of you?)

Look, Curley's a pragmatist. He knows the industry is in for hard choices and a lot of work. Only last month, he told the industry to stop fighting the transition to digital. "The first thing that has to go is the attitude," he said in a widely publicized speech.

My advice? Swallow your pride -- and pick up the phone. I suspect Curley's at his desk right now. Planning for the future.

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[Images: Curley, Associated Press; today's front page of The Daily World at Opelousas, La., Newseum]