Monday, August 19, 2013

Des Moines | Looks like new pub's been picked

Anonymous@11:57 a.m. says the following memo has gone out. The Des Moines Register has been without a publisher since May, when Laura Hollingsworth was promoted to newly expanded duties as Central Group chief and publisher of The Tennessean at Nashville.

Message from The Register Media Executive Leadership Team

Friends:

Laura Hollingsworth, President of USCP’s Central Group and publisher of our sister newspaper in Nashville, has asked that you join her at 11 a.m. Tuesday in the middle of the Newsroom for an announcement. Please, be prompt.

Thanks much,
The Register Media Executive Leadership Team.

One of GCI's biggest
The Register's weekday circulation is 93,304, and Sunday is 100,890. (Circulation lookup database.)

12 comments:

  1. I'm now reflecting on something Hollingsworth said during her Q&A this weekend with The Tennessean's business editor:

    Question: You’ve had some key management hires recently that have little to no background in newspapers. Was that intentional?

    Answer: It was absolutely intentional.

    In this business, for decades, we treated ourselves as if we were such a specialized business that no one could enter. So a lot of our publishers and a lot of our leaders kind of came up through the ranks. They got in the business young, and they stayed with it for 40 years. There was this climb, and we didn’t do a good job of injecting new skill sets into our way of thinking. I think that’s hurt the industry over time.

    I’ve been with this industry since I was a kid. For me, every day is a learning day, and I’ve got to stay on top of my game. I’ve considered myself a catalyst in this business since I was young. I was usually a younger player in an older business. I probably wouldn’t be playing it anymore if I wasn’t allowed to be a catalyst and a change agent. I’ve made a career of looking at how we can do better, and change our business to stay with the times.

    I’ve got to be a constant learner. I can’t live on a legacy. That’s very dangerous. To me, I need to surround myself with talented, smart people from all different professions and from all different walks of life. We are changing a business and transforming a culture. You’ve got to bring in new talent to do that.

    I hired (sales vice president John Ward and marketing and strategy VP Kurt Allen) not only for our own business, but in the interests of our customers and partners, too.

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  2. C'mon guys, its almost 3 hours since the Big Meeting. Any news from Des Moines?

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    3. You've misread the memo; the meeting is tomorrow.

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  3. It is a rare occasion when Des Moines,afraid of their shadows, posts here.

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  5. Meeting is tomorrow.

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  6. The rumors that the new publisher would be Brad Robertson are false. I heard he is leaving Gannett.

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    1. That alone should raise the stock price 1%

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