PROTECTION RESOURCE CENTER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- EVP / Chief Digital Officer / New York, NY
Andy is a 28-year media executive with a track record of driving rapid, profitable growth within large media companies. Andy joined a360media in March of 2023 to lead the digital organization and build a platform for revenue and audience growth.
Andy spent the majority of his media career at Meredith Corporation where he led digital product, audience, edit, marketing and revenue teams. In his last role, Andy led Meredith's Consumer Revenue business and helped transition it from predominantly print to a significant and growing digital business, including the building of Meredith's digital affiliate and commerce teams.
Andy attended Culver-Stockton College where he studied Business Management and Artificial Intelligence and received his MBA from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.
Job Titles:
- Chairman, American Press Institute / Director, Gannett Co., Inc
Barbara was named Chief Legal Officer in 2015 and also served as interim chief operating officer in 2019. She had served as the company's Vice President & Senior Associate General Counsel since 2009 and joined the legal staff of Gannett in 1985. Barbara has represented Gannett's interests on a variety of issues.
She has written and lectured on the First Amendment and has taught communications law at George Washington and American Universities. Before joining Gannett, she practiced law with Satterlee & Stephens. In 2012, she received the First Amendment Award from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Forum Communications Company
- President & CEO, Forum Communications Company / Fargo, ND
Bill is CEO of Forum Communications Company, a family-owned media company based in Fargo, ND, which operates more than 75 daily, monthly and weekly print titles with 48 web sites, four ABC television stations, AM radio and a commercial printing division. Twenty years ago, Inforum.com was one of the first fully integrated television, newspaper and radio web sites in the country.
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer of TMB
- President and Chief Executive Officer, Trusted Media Brands / White Plains, NY
Bonnie Kintzer is the President and Chief Executive Officer of TMB (Trusted Media Brands), the world's leading community-driven entertainment company powered by content that's inspired and created by its fans. Authentic to the core, TMB shines the spotlight on amazing people and moments to fuel the passions and pastimes of more than 200 million consumers worldwide.
Job Titles:
- Publisher of Deseret News
- Publisher, Deseret News / Salt Lake City, Utah
Burke Olsen is Publisher of Deseret News. Prior to becoming publisher, Olsen had been a vice president and the head digital officer at the Deseret News since December 2016. Previously, he was general manager of Deseret News digital products and digital content director. He and his teams focus on platform growth, user experience and content strategy. His prior work spans organizations in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors, including the Pew Research Center, the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games, a liberal arts college and two PR firms.
Throughout Olsen's career, he has focused on the intersection of technology, content and marketing. Olsen received a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University and did graduate work at The Johns Hopkins University.
Job Titles:
- Director, Human Resources & Operations
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Operating Officer, California Times / Los Angeles, CA
- President of California Times
Chris Argentieri is President of California Times, which includes the Los Angeles Times. He was appointed President of California Times in November 2019. He retains the title of COO. Argentieri joined the Los Angeles Times in late 2014 as general manager and has served as Chief Operating Officer since June 2018.
Since joining the company, Argentieri has led initiatives to extend The Times brand and its journalism to additional platforms, collaborate with other businesses and organizations, and refine the product portfolio and marketing offerings to better serve clients. Argentieri brings more than 20 years of media industry experience to his role at The Times. He was previously President of The Enthusiast Network (TEN), the country's largest collection of special-interest media, which includes more than 75 publications, 100 websites, 800 branded products and 50 annual events. Prior to that, he served as TEN's Chief Operating Officer overseeing technology, consumer marketing and brand development. Earlier in his career, Argentieri held a variety of operational roles at Hearst Magazines.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Tampa Bay Times
- Chairman and CEO, Tampa Bay Times / St. Petersburg, Fla.
Conan Gallaty is CEO of Tampa Bay Times - Times Publishing Co. In this role, he has overall responsibility for the business operations of the company, including advertising, circulation and operations.
Prior to his current role, Conan was Chief Digital Officer for the Tampa Bay Times and Executive Vice President of Times Publishing Company. He oversaw all digital strategy, development and IT infrastructure. Prior to Times Publishing Company, he was President of Digital for WEHCO Media, Inc., directing all internet operations, editorial and sales for WEHCO's 14 daily newspapers, 11 digital agencies and cable systems across six states.
He has also held the role of Director of Online Strategy and Operations for Herald-Tribune Media Group, then a division of the New York Times Regional Media Group as well as Online Director for The Augusta Chronicle in Augusta, Georgia. In more than 20 years working in digital media, Conan has received numerous awards for his work in news coverage, design, and advertising innovation. Conan began his career as a journalist, starting in the newsroom of the News-Tribune in his hometown of Rome, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with degrees in Journalism and Business.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President
- Executive Vice President, New Media & General Counsel, Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC / Boston, Mass.
Dan Krockmalnic is the Executive Vice President, New Media & General Counsel of Boston Globe Media Partners, the publisher of The Boston Globe and STAT, the world's leading source for health, medicine, and life sciences news. As the Globe's General Counsel since 2017, Dan oversees all legal affairs, including newsroom, labor, intellectual property, privacy, and litigation matters.
Dan was named Executive Vice President of New Media in 2020. In this role, Dan has company-wide business-side oversight for developing projects for television, film, podcasts, and other media.
In 2024, Dan assumed oversight of the company's printing and distribution operations. Dan also leads the company's work on legislative and advocacy issues affecting the news publishing business. In addition to his service on the NMA board, he also serves as Vice President of the Massachusetts Newspaper Publishers Association.
Prior to joining the Globe, Dan worked at the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office, the Boston law firm of Ropes & Gray, and as a law clerk in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. Dan was born in Bucharest, Romania, and emigrated with his parents to the USA as an infant on a refugee visa. His family settled in Boston, where years later his first job was as a paperboy for the Globe. He first appeared in its pages as a high school Globe All- Scholastic in track and field, and went on to attend Harvard College (magna cum laude, 2002) and Columbia Law School (2006). He now lives outside of Boston with his wife, Tamar Dor-Ner, and two sons, Felix and Gideon.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Member of the Board of Directors of the National Press Club Journalism Institute
- President & CEO of the News / Media Alliance
- President & CEO, News / Media Alliance, Arlington, VA
Danielle Coffey is President & CEO of the News/Media Alliance, which represents 2,000 news and magazine media outlets worldwide. Prior to becoming CEO in 2023, Danielle served since 2015 as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, leading the organization's advocacy and strategy. While focusing on a digital future for news, which includes building a more favorable legislative and regulatory environment for the digital distribution of news content, her government affairs and policy advocacy is driven by news publishers' core mission of a flourishing, free and independent press.
Before joining the Alliance, Danielle was Vice President and General Counsel for the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) where she led advocacy efforts for member companies on issues that affected the internet ecosystem, broadband deployment, content regulation and international trade. She was responsible for informing and educating government representatives about member companies' technologies and advocated for policies that facilitate innovation.
Danielle is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Press Club Journalism Institute (NPCJI). Danielle earned her JD from the Catholic University Law School, with a specialization in Communications Law.
She was born and raised in California and obtained her undergraduate degree from San Diego State University. Danielle lives with her husband and two daughters in McLean, Virginia.
Job Titles:
- President
- Senior Vice President
- President, Hearst Magazines / New York, NY
Debi Chirichella is senior vice president of Hearst and president of Hearst Magazines, one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with more than 25 brands in the U.S. and nearly 250 international magazine editions, after serving as executive vice president, chief financial officer and director of global operations for Hearst Magazines. Chirichella is a member of the Hearst board of directors.
She joined Hearst Magazines as senior vice president and chief financial officer in November 2011, overseeing the company's strategic financial planning and reporting. Previously, Chirichella spent seven years at Condé Nast, where she served in a number of executive positions. From 2008 until early 2011, she was chief operating officer of Condé Nast Digital; simultaneously, beginning in 2010, she was COO of the Fairchild Fashion Group. Before that, she was chief financial officer of Condé Nast Publications.
Earlier in her career, Chirichella held several high-level planning, finance and operations roles at Primedia, and most recently, she served as CFO/COO at Prometheus Global Media.
Chirichella is a graduate of Princeton University and received her master's degree in business from Harvard University. She currently resides in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, with her husband and three children.
Job Titles:
- Policy Strategist, Media Expert and Journalist
- Senior Vice President Public Affairs, Axel Springer SE / Berlin, Germany
Dr. Dietrich von Klaeden is a leading policy strategist, media expert and journalist. At Axel Springer, he is responsible for the group-wide public affairs activities in Germany and internationally. While pursuing his legal studies, his doctorate and his legal training, Dr. von Klaeden worked initially as a reporter, correspondent and moderator for broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk.
Following the completion of his second state exam, he served as a lawyer and counsel for the Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group, as well as press spokesman and marketing head of broadcaster Südwestrundfunk. He has worked for Axel Springer since 2007, serving in various management functions, and as Senior Vice President Public Affairs since spring 2017.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Government Affairs
- Vice President, Government Affairs at the News / Media Alliance
- VP, Government Affairs
Emily Emery is Vice President, Government Affairs at the News/Media Alliance. Before joining the News/Media Alliance, Emily was Vice President of Government Relations for a leading mobile games publisher and for MPA - the Magazine Publishers Association, which merged with the News/Media Alliance in 2022. She has more than a decade of experience in advocating for effective public policy strategies, and much of her experience has focused on technology innovation, data security, and consumer privacy. Emily began her career working in the U.S. Senate. She holds a CIPP/US certification.
Emily has an MPA from New York University's Wagner School of Public Service and earned her undergraduate from the George Washington University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Editor of MediaNews Group
- Executive Editor, MediaNews Group & Tribune Publishing / Los Angeles, CA
Frank Pine is executive editor of MediaNews Group and Tribune Publishing, where he directs news and content strategy for more than 60 daily newspapers and 200 weeklies with an unduplicated audience of more than 57 million readers across the United States.
He also serves as editor of the Bay Area and Southern California news groups. Among the 13 daily publications under his purview are The Orange County Register, The Mercury News, Los Angeles Daily News and The Press-Enterprise in Riverside.
He has additionally held positions as director of audience development for MediaNews Group and as editor and general manager of the Inland and San Gabriel Valley news groups.
With more than 30 years in the industry, Frank has led transformational efforts to deliver news content across all channels and platforms as the company has transitioned from traditional print to a multiplatform purveyor of news and information. He has overseen company efforts to reach and engage digital audience and played a key role in conceiving and launching innovative strategies and technologies to drive new business.
A staunch advocate for freedom of the press and public accountability, he is committed to building a sustainable future for journalism as a bulwark of democracy and has directed reporting that has prompted legislative change and earned national acclaim.
Frank is a graduate of Cal Poly Pomona and lives in California with his wife and daughter.
Job Titles:
- Social Media & Content Manager
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board of Hydrocephalus Canada
- Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Postmedia Network Canada Corp
Ms. Akai joined Postmedia's predecessor company in 2006 and added corporate secretarial duties to her legal affairs responsibilities in 2010. She was appointed Postmedia's Chief Administrative Officer in February 2018, adding to her existing role as General Counsel which she has held since November 2016. Ms. Akai is responsible for Postmedia's legal and regulatory affairs, corporate governance, human resources and risk management.
Ms. Akai currently serves as Chair of the Board of Hydrocephalus Canada and as a Director on the Board of News Media Alliance. Prior to joining the company, Ms. Akai was with Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP (now Dentons Canada LLP) practicing corporate commercial law including mergers and acquisitions and specializing in technology and intellectual property matters. Ms. Akai holds a joint Bachelor of Laws (LLB)/MBA from Osgoode Hall Law School/Schulich School of Business (York University).
Job Titles:
- CEO of DallasNews Corporation
- Chief Executive Officer, DallasNews Corporation / Dallas, TX
Grant is currently the CEO of DallasNews Corporation, and President and Publisher of The Dallas Morning News. In his role, Grant is responsible for all core functions instrumental in delivering one of the nation's best daily local news media reports combined with excellent customer service.
Previously, Grant served as General Manager of The Dallas Morning News and Senior Vice President of Business Development for A.H. Belo. He managed mergers and acquisitions for A. H. Belo and oversaw the integration of new companies into the company's marketing solutions ecosystem - including The Dallas Morning News core assets, as well as six new businesses that were built or acquired during the past five years. Prior to that, Grant served as the Vice President of Digital for The Dallas Morning News, where he was responsible for the monetization of all digital assets and was the Publisher of Briefing.
Before his return to The Dallas Morning News in 2008, Grant was the Vice President of Direct Channel Sales for Tribune Media Net. In his role at The Tribune, Grant oversaw all advertising that came through traditional media buying channels which included direct business or advertising bought through full service advertising agencies.
In addition to Grant's direct responsibilities, he also sits on the boards of: Neeley School of Business Advisory Board at TCU, and Providence Christian School of Texas and is a member of The Dallas Citizens Council.
Grant is a graduate of the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. He also has an MBA from Texas Christian University.
Grant is married to his wife, Katie, and they have two daughters, Macy and Lyle and a son, Reid.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Customer Care and Logistics, the Washington Post Company / Washington, D.C.
Gregg Fernandes is Vice President, Customer Care and Logistics for The Washington Post Company. He has more than 29 years of experience in the newspaper industry and has worked in all capacities of Circulation and Marketing.
Gregg is responsible for all aspects of The Washington Post's relationship with its customers, including consumer marketing, delivery operations and customer service.
He oversees The Washington Post Print Operations, Distribution, Transportation and Third Party Affiliates. Gregg earned his BA in Behavioral Science, and an MA in Administration from The University of Maryland at College Park and a JD from The University of Maryland Francis Carey King School of Law. He is a member of the Maryland Bar.
Gregg and his wife, Roslyn have two children: Caitlyn and Michael.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Government Affairs
- VP, Government Affairs
Holly Lubart is Vice President, Government Affairs, for the News/Media Alliance. Prior to this role, Holly served as Vice President, Government Affairs for the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association.
In addition, she has worked for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, served in two gubernatorial administrations, and represented the Pennsylvania Health Care Association and Pennsylvania Architects Association. Holly started her career as a journalist and is passionate about advocating for the future of the news media.
She holds a B.A. degree in Communication/Journalism from Shippensburg University, where she served on the Alumni Board of Directors for two terms. With over 25 years of experience, she has won awards for her work in Government Affairs/Advocacy, Communications, and Meetings/Events/Education.
Job Titles:
- SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Dotdash Meredith
- SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Dotdash Meredith / New York, NY
Jeff Hartwig is the SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Dotdash Meredith, America's largest publisher. Dotdash Meredith's over 40 brands help 200 million people each month make decisions, take action, and find inspiration, across iconic brands like PEOPLE, FOOD & WINE, The Spruce, Allrecipes, Byrdie, REAL SIMPLE, Investopedia, and more.
Before joining Dotdash Meredith, Jeff spent six years at Dow Jones & Company, Inc. where he served as counsel to the digital and print production groups of The Wall Street Journal and its affiliated publications. Prior to joining Dow Jones, Jeff was an associate attorney at the international law firm of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, providing legal counsel to emerging businesses on their financing, intellectual property and general corporate matters.
Jeff holds a JD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and a B.A. degree in French from San Francisco State University.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer for McClatchy Company
Jeffrey K. Dorsey is Chief Operating Officer for McClatchy Company, a Sacramento CA, based publishing company operating several newspapers and digital based assets. Mr. Dorsey started his employment with McClatchy in September 2020 serving as SVP of Transformation. Prior to starting with McClatchy, Mr. Dorsey was President of Dass Inc, a management/technology consulting and solutions delivery firm.
Mr. Dorsey has nearly 20 years of media related business experience having served in numerous cross functional middle-to-senior level management roles with Tribune Publishing Company, as well as Tribune Company, including having served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) & SVP at Tribune Publishing Company from 2015 to 2017. Mr. Dorsey holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor degree from Purdue University in Industrial Management. He also is a former Certified Internal Auditor. Mr. Dorsey currently serves on the board for RR Donnelley, News Media Alliance and Timothy Christian Schools.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President of Hearst
- Senior Vice President, Hearst - President, Hearst Newspapers / New York, NY
Jeffrey M. Johnson is a senior vice president of Hearst and the president and group head of Hearst Newspapers. Johnson previously served as the publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. He came to the Chronicle in 2013 after a 25-year career in publishing, including serving as president, publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times, and six years of work in private equity at the Yucaipa Companies. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago and undergraduate accounting degree from the University of Illinois.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- President
- President and CEO of Trib Total Media
Jennifer Bertetto is the the President and CEO of Trib Total Media and 535media in Pittsburgh, Pa. She also serves as the Chairworman for the Trib's family of companies.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Ziff Davis / New York, NY
Jeremy oversees Ziff Davis' legal team and is responsible for managing all of the company's global legal issues, including merger and acquisition matters, intellectual property, litigation, compliance and regulatory affairs, and corporate governance. Prior to joining the company in May 2015, Jeremy served as a Senior Vice President at The Gores Group, a private equity firm, and General Counsel at Helio LLC, a wireless telecommunications carrier, and Somera Communications, Inc., a telecommunications equipment company.
Prior to joining Somera, Jeremy served as a corporate and securities attorney at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. Jeremy holds Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer of G / O Media
- Chief Executive Officer, G / O Media / New York, NY
- Executive Member of the Board of Digital Content Next
Jim Spanfeller is Chief Executive Officer of G/O Media, the publisher of leading digital-first brands including Gizmodo, The AV Club, Deadspin, Jalopnik, The Root, Jezebel, Kotaku, Lifehacker, The Takeout, The Onion, and The Inventory. Assuming this position in April of 2019 under the direction of private equity group, Great Hill Partners, Spanfeller has grown traffic and diversified revenue, leading the company into its first quarters of profitability under its new ownership. G/O Media currently reaches over 100 million unique visitors, a third of Americans online each month, per ComScore.
Prior to G/O Media, Spanfeller was the founder and CEO of The Spanfeller Media Group, the publisher of The Daily Meal and The Active Times. He started this company in 2011 and subsequently took The Daily Meal from start up to over 15 million monthly unique visitors as per ComScore. SMG was successfully sold to Tribune Publishing in December of 2017.
Prior to this position he served as the President and CEO of Forbes.com, home page for the world's business leaders, growing it to the largest business site in the world. In this position, Spanfeller oversaw Forbes Digital, which included Forbes.com, ForbesTraveler.com, Investopedia.com, RealClearPolitics.com, RealClearMarkets.com, RealClearSports.com, and the Forbes.com Business and Finance Blog Network, which together boasted well over 75 million unique monthly visitors.
Spanfeller has received numerous industry accolades. He has been included in BtoB Media Business' "Who's Who In Business Publishing" and was named "Top Interactive Executive for General Business Publishers" as part of the "Top Innovator in Business Publishing" awards. He has also been included in BtoB magazine's "Top 25 Newsmakers" as well as the "Media Power 50 List" at #4, and was inducted into min's first-ever Digital Hall of Fame. Additionally, the IAB awarded Spanfeller one of its first ever Founder's Awards for contributions to the digital advertising industry.
Spanfeller is an executive member of the board of Digital Content Next, the leading trade organization for premium digital content creators and is a Chairman Emeritus of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB). He also currently holds or has held board seats at Freedom Communications, Inc., Hottopics (Chairman of The Board), MediaSmith, We Are Family Foundation and the ABM (American Business Media Association). He served on the Board of Directors of the Magazine Publishers Association, 1999-2000.
In addition to these full board positions he also serves on the advisory boards of several early stage web start-ups; We7, Blockthrough and Fattail are three examples.
He writes frequently in leading industry trade publications and speaks regularly throughout the world on media issues in the digital age.
Prior to joining Forbes.com, Spanfeller was President of the Consumer Magazine Group of Ziff Davis Media, Inc. Previously, he was Publisher of Inc. magazine and also held senior positions at Playboy Enterprises Publishing Group and Newsweek.
Spanfeller received a B.A. in English Literature from Union College. He lives in New York City with his wife, Peg, and their three daughters.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Future Plc
- Chief Executive Officer, Future Plc / London, England
Jon is the CEO of Future Plc. He is an experienced media executive, with a strong track record of innovation, scaling media groups and creating value. Prior to his role as CEO at Future, Jon was the President of Altice USA's News & Advertising Division, which encompasses News 12, i24NEWS, Cheddar News, and Altice USA's a4 Advertising unit. Jon joined Altice through the sale of Cheddar News, a digital-first innovative news company, which he founded in 2016.
Prior to Cheddar, he was the Chief Executive Officer of DailyMail.com North America, having joined from BuzzFeed where he was President & Chief Operating Officer. Jon's early career included working at Google, where he was a Strategic Partner Development Manager, as well as the consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton.
Jon was formerly a Senior Advisor to The Raine Group, where he advised media portfolio companies on strategy and go-to-market execution.
Jon graduated with an B.A. from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and holds an M.B.A from Columbia University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Membership
Job Titles:
- President and Chief Executive Officer, Lee Enterprises / Davenport, Iowa
Kevin Mowbray was elected president and chief executive officer in 2016, having served as executive vice president and chief operating officer since 2013. He previously was publisher of Lee's largest newspaper, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, since 2006.
Kevin began his career with Lee in 1986 as an advertising sales representative in his hometown of Kewanee, Illinois. He advanced to sales positions in Helena, Butte and Billings, Montana, before moving to Chicago as Lee's national sales manager for corporate sales and marketing. In 1995, he joined the Lincoln Journal Star as advertising manager, where he served three years before becoming general manager at the Missoulian in Missoula, Montana, in 1998. In 2000, he advanced to publisher of The Bismarck Tribune in Bismarck, North Dakota, where he guided the newspaper to the 2001 Lee President's Award for Enterprise of the Year. In 2002, he was appointed vice president for sales and marketing, and in November 2004 he became a vice president for publishing, with responsibility for 13 newspapers, also serving as publisher of The Times in Northwest Indiana. In 2005, Suburban Newspapers of America honored The Times as Newspaper of the Year.
Kevin is active in many civic and industry organizations. His charitable and civic involvement includes serving on the board of directors of Ladue Education Foundation, The Partnership for Downtown St. Louis, Regional Business Council, St. Louis Regional Chamber, St. Louis Sports Commission, St. Louis Variety, and Old Newsboys Day Children's Charity. He is a journalism graduate of Western Illinois University. Kevin and his wife, Linda, have four children.
Job Titles:
- Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer at TEGNA
Lauren Fisher is senior vice president and chief legal officer at TEGNA. In this role, Lauren leads the legal team and oversees all legal functions across a broad range of disciplines including content creation and distribution, intellectual property, corporate, ethics and compliance, and litigation. The legal team helps to strategize long-term direction and supports the growth of all of TEGNA's businesses.
Lauren joined TEGNA from Vox Media where she was chief legal officer and corporate secretary reporting to Vox Media's chairman and CEO for more than 15 years. She advised the company through tremendous growth as it expanded to nearly 20 distinct media brands across all digital platforms, launched new digital advertising products, entered the realm of television and entertainment programming, and acquired new consumer businesses.
Previously, Lauren acted in the role of vice president, business and legal affairs at Hulu where she provided legal support during the service's commercial launch. Prior to Hulu, She worked at AOL for seven years where she led the team that managed wide-ranging intellectual property matters, technology deals, rights and licensing, and various aspects of law relating to AOL's businesses. Earlier in her career, Lauren was associate counsel at The Vanguard Group and worked at the law firms of Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and Hoyle, Morris & Kerr.
Fisher graduated with honors from the University of Chicago Law School where she was a published member of the law review. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in political history and concentrated on marketing and economics at The Wharton School. Lauren serves as co-chair of the copyright and trademark committee of the Media Law Resource Center.
Job Titles:
- Publisher and CEO, the Philadelphia Inquirer / Philadelphia, Penn.
As Publisher of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Hughes brings to the role an impressive track record, having successfully transitioned an iconic print brand into a multi-platform, profitable business. Hughes is the first woman Publisher and Chief Executive Officer in The Inquirer's 190-year history.
Hughes is known as a skilled business executive who values and respects journalism.
Under her nine-year leadership, The New Yorker, owned by Condé Nast, grew from a largely print-only magazine into a multimedia enterprise. Over the past decade, The New Yorker revamped its website and paid digital content strategy and built award-winning mobile apps. Hughes launched the acclaimed New Yorker Radio Hour and Podcast, and restructured The New Yorker Festival into a profitable business. She left the company at the end of 2017. Prior to The New Yorker, Hughes served as VP Publisher of Condé Nast Traveler for 10 years, steering that magazine through the most successful period in its history.
Job Titles:
- President & CEO, Adams Publishing Group / Minneapolis, Minn.
Born and raised in Minneapolis, Minn., Mark Adams attended the London School of Economics and graduated from Tufts University. He also has an MBA and an MS in communications from Boston University. Following a 20-year stint in a Boston-based private equity firm specializing in media, Adams became a consultant for various publishing businesses regarding sales and marketing management, circulation strategies, finance and restructuring, and content and digital development. In late 2013, with backing from his family, Adams launched APG.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President of Newspapers for Advance Publications
- Executive Vice President, Newspapers, Advance Publications Inc
Mark Newhouse is executive vice president of newspapers for Advance Publications in New York City. Previously he has worked in various capacities at Advance newspapers in Queens and Staten Island in New York, and in Portland, Ore., Harrisburg, Pa. and Newark, N.J. Mark served on the board of the Audit Bureau of Circulations from 1995 to 2004. He holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and General Manager of Magazine Operations
- Treasurer / Executive Vice President, General Manager of Magazine Operations, Dotdash Meredith / Des Moines, Ia.
Mike Riggs is Executive Vice President and General Manager of Magazine Operations. He oversees all aspects of print operations for the company's magazine portfolio, including circulation, production, finance, consumer distribution, and premium publishing. Mike joined Meredith in 2007 as Senior Vice President of Finance, overseeing the financial operations for all of Meredith's magazine brands, books and integrated marketing operations.
In 2014 he was named EVP/GM of Meredith Xcelerated Marketing, and in 2018 he assumed responsibility for the financial management of Meredith's digital, digital consumer and entertainment brands. Earlier in his career, Mike spent nine years at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, where he held a variety of operating roles in finance, business planning, and sales and marketing, including Senior Vice President of Finance, Chief Financial Officer, and Director of Interactive Media Sales and Strategy. He's also worked as a senior auditor for an accounting company and an SEC reporting specialist for a manufacturing firm.
Mike earned a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from North Dakota State University.
Job Titles:
- Newsday in 2001 As Associate Editor for Special Projects
- Vice Chair / Publisher, Newsday Media Group, LLC / Melville, NY
Ms. Debby Krenek serves as Publisher at Newsday Media Group. Krenek joined Newsday in 2001 as associate editor for special projects, including the creation of a Newsday website for New York City. She was promoted to managing editor three years later and was named editor-in-chief and executive vice president of digital media in 2009. She had been serving as Co-Publisher since June 2016.
Krenek has been instrumental to the expansion of newsday.com, the creation of Newsday apps for mobile devices, and the establishment of a video journalism department, which produces Emmy-winning documentaries.
Earlier in her career, Krenek served as managing editor for features and editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News. She directed the News' coverage of the Abner Louima police brutality case, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1998. She also worked at the Dallas Times Herald and Corpus Christi Caller-Times, both in her native Texas.
Job Titles:
- Partner
- Senior Vice President, Global Government Affairs at the News / Media Alliance
Neil Quinter is Senior Vice President, Global Government Affairs at the News/Media Alliance. Neil has a record of accomplishments working in and with federal and state governments. In federal government, Neil has served as Chief Counsel to U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein and as Minority Chief Counsel and Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism & Government Information of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. In these roles, he has worked on such landmark matters as impeachment and censure of the President of the United States, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the America Invents Act, and comprehensive immigration reform, and helped lead the passage of legislation regarding intellectual property, criminal justice, and appropriations. He also served as Director of Research for the reelection campaign of U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes.
Neil has served as a partner at major law firms and in his own solo practice, concentrating his practice on federal and state government affairs and congressional investigations, and representing major companies, trade associations, non-profits, and individuals.
At the state level, Quinter served as an elected member of the Maryland House of Delegates, where he served on the Judiciary Committee. During his time in office, Quinter passed numerous bills, on subjects including technology, consumer protection, and criminal justice. Previously, he served as an Assistant Attorney General, at the Maryland Department of the Environment, where he won record penalties from polluters, and drafted and steered the passage of legislation that led to a 98% reduction in childhood lead poisoning.
Neil started his legal career as a law clerk for the Honorable Herbert F. Murray, a judge on the United States District Court for the District of Maryland.
Neil earned his JD from Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude, and earned his bachelor's degree from Colgate University, where he graduated summa cum laude with High Honors in International Relations/Political Science.
Job Titles:
- President of Vox Media
- President, Vox Media / New York, NY
Pam Wasserstein is the president of Vox Media, the leader in modern media, where she oversees all editorial brands and content creation, including the company's studios and podcasting business and dynamic multi-platform brands such as Vox, New York Magazine, The Dodo, The Verge, NowThis, Eater, The Cut and Vulture. Prior to its 2019 merger with Vox Media, she had been the CEO of New York Media (since May 2016), leading the New York Magazine brands and building out the company's e-commerce business with the launch of The Strategist and consumer revenue business with the launch of a digital paywall.
Before becoming CEO, Wasserstein served as co-chair and head of strategy.
Wasserstein received a 2018 Spirit of ABNY Award recognizing distinguished service to New York City, and was named to Crain's New York's 40 Under 40 class of 2017. She has spoken at SXSW, Advertising Week and Code Media, among other venues.
Prior to joining New York Media, Wasserstein worked at Tribeca Enterprises, most recently as vice president, corporate development. Before that she worked at Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm, where she evaluated potential investments and managed existing portfolio companies, and as a corporate lawyer at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP. She is a board member at the Charles H. Revson Foundation, and a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
Job Titles:
- Manager, Membership and Events
Job Titles:
- Chief of Staff to Meredith Kopit Levien
- Secretary / SVP, Chief of Staff to the CEO, the New York Times / New York, NY
Rebecca Grossman-Cohen is the Chief of Staff to Meredith Kopit Levien, CEO of The New York Times. She has been at The Times since 2014 as a leader in the marketing department, helping to build and accelerate the success of the digital subscription business. As Chief of Staff she runs the office of the CEO, and leads relationships and strategic work with big platform partners including Google, Facebook, Apple.
Previous to The Times, Rebecca was Vice President of Partner Relations at News Corp, Vice President of Marketing at The Daily, and Executive Director of Marketing at The New Republic. She has also worked in strategy and development roles for the Associated Press and NPR. Rebecca has an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management where she was awarded the McCormick Fellow for Media Management at Northwestern. In 2018 she was recognized as a Working Mother of the Year by She Runs It. She previously served as the chair of the Women's Network at The Times, and on the advisory board of Girls Who Code. She lives with her husband Dan, and their daughters Hazel and Lila, in Brooklyn.
Regan Smith - Chief Legal Officer, SVP
Job Titles:
- General Counsel
- Senior Vice President
- Senior Vice President & General Counsel at the News / Media Alliance
Regan Smith is Senior Vice President & General Counsel at the News/Media Alliance. She is a recognized expert in intellectual property law and policy who has testified before multiple parliamentary bodies and spoken in other government, academic, and industry forums on topics including copyright, artificial intelligence, digital rights management, free expression, algorithmic regulation, and collective licensing.
Previously, Regan served as General Counsel and Associate Register of Copyrights at the U.S. Copyright Office. In that role, she oversaw an extensive portfolio of regulatory, litigation, and policy matters, including over 45 regulatory proceedings and several matters before the Supreme Court. She spearheaded the agency's policy and legal work to update the licensing for musical works under the Music Modernization Act, overhauled the rulemaking regarding anticircumvention of technological measures required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), and served on the administrative board determining final appeals to denials of registration applications on the thorniest questions of copyrightability.
Immediately prior to News/Media Alliance, she was Head of Public Policy in Spotify's government affairs group, leading global intellectual property and music public policy matters. Earlier in her career, she spent several years in private practice, focusing on intellectual property, media law, First Amendment, advertising, and emerging technology issues.
Regan teaches copyright law at George Washington University. She is a trustee of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A., the Chair of the ABA's Copyright Legislation committee, and an adviser to the American Law Institute's Restatement of Copyright Law project.
She received a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in philosophy and political science from the University of Michigan.
Job Titles:
- CEO of Condé Nast
- Chief Executive Officer, Condé Nast / New York, NY
- Founding CEO of Sling TV
Roger Lynch is the CEO of Condé Nast, a global media company producing the highest quality content with a footprint of more than 1 billion consumers in 32 markets worldwide on all platforms available today, including print, digital, video and social. The company's portfolio includes many of the world's most respected and influential brands including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Glamour, Self, GQ, The New Yorker, Condé Nast Traveler, Allure, AD, Bon Appétit, and Wired, among others.
Upon joining in 2019, Lynch undertook the ambitious task of merging the Condé Nast businesses into one global company for the first time in its over 100-year history. He continues to lead a digital-first transformation strategy that will double both video and consumer revenue programs over the next several years. In committing to a 25% increased investment in content and journalism, he is transforming the company's publishing operations by creating globally integrated content teams across its most iconic brands. To date, these efforts have resulted in global audience growth, in addition to double digit revenue growth driven by the expansion of technology-based capabilities.
Prior to joining Condé Nast, Lynch served as President and CEO of Pandora, the U.S.'s largest streaming music service. While at Pandora, Lynch quickly refocused the business on key growth, transformation and investment initiatives to accelerate revenue and generate positive returns. Under his leadership in 2018, Pandora doubled its prior year's revenue growth rate and grew subscription revenue nearly 50%. As a result, Pandora's share price grew 68% in 2018, higher than all but two companies in the S&P 500.
Previously, as the founding CEO of Sling TV, Lynch led the creation, launch and scaling of Sling TV, the No. 1 U.S. over-the-top television service that delivers the best of live sports, news and entertainment to broadband-connected devices. Sling TV earned numerous awards for its launch at the 2015 International CES, including the show's top honors, "Best of CES 2015, Overall Winner."
Prior to joining DISH, Lynch served as Chairman and CEO of Video Networks International, Ltd., an IPTV technology company in the United Kingdom. While at Video Networks he won an Emmy for Scamp, an on-demand children's channel, and a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and The Arts) for V:MX, a collection of on-demand music video channels. He also previously served as President and CEO of Chello Broadband N.V., a broadband Internet service provider with operations in ten European countries. Previously, Lynch was a technology investment banker with Morgan Stanley in New York, Silicon Valley and London. He began his career as a member of the physics technical staff at the Hughes Aircraft Company.
Lynch currently serves on the Board of Directors of Condé Nast, Mattel, Inc., and the Partnership for New York City. He is also a member of the Champions of Change Coalition, the Board of Overseers of the Tuck School at Dartmouth College and the Board of Councilors of the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California. He received his Master of Business Administration with the highest distinction from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and his Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Southern California.
Job Titles:
- Journalist, Co - Founder, URL Media / New York, NY
- Journalist, Media Executive
S. Mitra Kalita is a veteran journalist, media executive, prolific commentator and author of two books. Once described as "wonderfully blunt" by CNN anchor Brian Stelter, she is a change agent, loves writing headlines and framing stories, and blends digital strategy and audience-centric approaches while advocating for diversity and better management of our newsrooms. Recently, she launched Epicenter-NYC, a newsletter to help New Yorkers get through the pandemic. Mitra has also recently co-founded a new media company called URL Media, a network of Black and Brown owned media organizations that share content, distribution and revenues to increase their long-term sustainability.
She's on the board of the Philadelphia Inquirer and writes a weekly column for Fortune. Mitra was most recently SVP at CNN Digital, overseeing the national news, breaking news, programming, opinion and features teams. She led the launch of Live Story, a tool that helps audiences follow stories in real time. Her philosophy on the "arc of a story" has been cited and emulated in news outlets across the country. Mitra has been a board member and visiting faculty at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, teaching in its women's academy, program for journalists of color and a seminar for new managers. She teaches in the accelerator program of the Online News Association. She's been an adjunct at Columbia Journalism School, St. John's University, CUNY Journalism School and UMass-Amherst. She was previously managing editor for editorial strategy at the Los Angeles Times. She served as the executive editor (at large) for Quartz, Atlantic Media's global economy site, and was its founding ideas editor. She also oversaw the launches of Quartz India and Quartz Africa. She worked previously at the Wall Street Journal, where she directed coverage of the Great Recession, launched a local news section for New York City and reported on the housing crisis as a senior writer. She was a founding editor of Mint, a business paper in New Delhi, and has previously worked for the Washington Post, Newsday and the Associated Press. She is the author of two books related to migration and globalization. She previously served as president of the South Asian Journalists Association. Born in Brooklyn, Mitra was raised in Long Island, Puerto Rico and New Jersey-with regular trips to her grandparents' villages in Assam, India. Jackson Heights has been home, on and off, for the last 20 years. She is married to the artist Nitin Mukul and they have two daughters and one mutt. She tweets @mitrakalita.
Job Titles:
- Chief Operating Officer, McClatchy Company
Job Titles:
- CEO and Publisher of Star Tribune
- CEO and Publisher, Star Tribune Media Company, LLC / Minneapolis, Minn.
Steve Grove is CEO and Publisher of Star Tribune. Previously, he was Gov. Tim Walz's commissioner of employment and economic development, where he led the administration's efforts to grow and protect the Minnesota economy and its workers through a dynamic and challenging four years in state history. Prior to that, Grove spent 12 years as an executive at Alphabet's Google and most recently was the founding director of the Google News Lab, which was developed to help media companies and startups drive innovation in the news industry.
Grove also led Google's civic engagement work, including the company's nonpartisan voter information and get-out-the-vote efforts. He previously built YouTube's news and politics team, launching the first partnership programs for news organizations, nonprofits, and political candidates. Before that, Grove was a journalist for The Boston Globe, ABC News, and the Northfield (Minn.) News, his hometown newspaper. A Minnesota native and a graduate of Northfield High School, he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy and economics from Claremont McKenna College and a master's degree in public policy analysis from Harvard. Steve and his wife Mary are the co-founder of Silicon North Stars, a nonprofit that helps underserved youth find career pathways in technology. They moved to Minneapolis from Silicon Valley in 2018 and are the proud parents of six year old twins, a yellow lab, and two farm cats.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director, Guardian US / New York, NY
Bringing over 20 years of business and leadership experience at both for-profit and non-profit digital media companies and brands across the US, Steve joined the Guardian in October of 2022, after co-founding Recode the Quo, an organization focused on helping Austin, Texas tech startups build more diverse, inclusive and equitable companies.
In this role, Steve oversees the strategic direction and overall growth of the US business while ensuring continued financial support for its journalistic mission in the American market which has shown an increasing appetite for objective, socially impactful news. Since 2013, Steve has also served as a board member for the non-profit news organization the Texas Tribune, and as advisor for the launch of Cityside, an Oakland, California-based non-profit news organization.
Job Titles:
- Executive Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs for News Corp
- News Corp in 2014 As Senior Vice President for Global Government Affairs
Todd Thorpe is the Executive Vice President and Global Head of Government Affairs for News Corp. Mr. Thorpe is responsible for leading the Company's government relations and advocacy efforts in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia.
Mr. Thorpe joined News Corp in 2014 as Senior Vice President for Global Government Affairs where he focused on U.S. federal and international government affairs. In this role he worked closely with the News Corp legal team and the company's business units in the United Kingdom and in Europe on intellectual property and competition cases.
Prior to News Corp, Mr. Thorpe served as Managing Principal at the Bockorny Group, a bipartisan federal advocacy and consulting firm. At this time he engaged on behalf of clients for a wide variety of issues including technology and the internet, telecommunications, privacy and competition policy.
Mr. Thorpe also served on Capitol Hill. During his decade of experience he worked for three Members of the House of Representatives and worked on congressional campaigns culminating as Chief of Staff to a senior Member of the House Judiciary Committee.
Thorpe has a B.A. from Utah State University, a graduate degree from the Universite Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium and a J.D. from George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law.
He lives on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. with his wife and three children.
Job Titles:
- Chairman / Chairman & CEO, McClatchy / Sacramento, Ca.
- Chairman and CEO of McClatchy
Tony Hunter is Chairman and CEO of McClatchy. He is an accomplished operating executive with extensive experience successfully leading large scale media organizations. He joined the Tribune Company in 1994, rising the ranks to Chief Executive Officer of Tribune Publishing and Publisher of the Chicago Tribune, a role he held from 2008 to 2016.
During his tenure at Tribune, he led the company through bankruptcy amid a global recession and transformed the traditional publishing business into a thriving and competitive media and business services company. Tony led the reinvention of Tribune's business model in a rapidly evolving business environment, investing in local differentiated content, new digital products and services, and brokering innovative strategic partnerships and initiatives. Previously, Tony served as Chairman of Nucleus Marketing Solutions, a collaborative venture between McClatchy, Gannett, Hearst, and Tribune, from 2016 to 2019, as well as Chairman of the News Media Alliance and a member of the Board of the Alliance for Audited Media. He serves on the Board of Metropolitan Family Services and is a former board member of United Way of Metro Chicago. Tony earned a B.A. from Coe College, an M.B.A. from DePaul University, and is a non-practicing CPA.
Job Titles:
- Deputy CFO - Gannett / McLean, Va.
- Deputy CFO of Gannett
Trisha is currently the Deputy CFO of Gannett, the largest newspaper company in the U.S. and one of the country's largest media companies. Trisha has over 20 years of experience in finance, currently overseeing the data, investor relations, financial planning and analysis and strategy of the company. She partners with senior leaders to drive the growth, innovation, and sustainability of Gannett's diverse portfolio of brands, products, and services.
Previously, Trisha served as the Senior Vice President of Finance and Investor Relations and played a key role in the merger of Gannett and New Media, creating the largest local media company in the US. Trisha has over 15 years of experience in the media and publishing industry. Prior to that, she served in finance roles at Brunswick Corporation and Mitsubishi Electric.