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From 'Publisher' to 'Community Director': Staffing Morphs to Match the Shape of Digital Most of the changes we are seeing are centered around the continuing digital evolution and staffing support for that evolution. I checked in with a number of media executives to see what they have to say about staffing and new organizational structures needed to succeed in this transformative time. Bill Pollak, CEO, ALM, is creating positions that will drive revenue through new product development, particularly digital products and data/information services. Almost every position in the company is being transformed as its emphasis moves from print to digital, and from traditional media products to data/information services. "Editors, marketers, salespeople, production staff—all are seeing their work transformed as we launch new products and introduce new tools," Pollak says. David Nussbaum, CEO, F+W Media, has added an e-commerce director; director of digital content( enhanced ebook producer); online database director who manages e-mail lists, segmentation and marketing; and a director of marketing who oversees all marketing across all channel platforms. Roland DeSilva, managing partner at media investment bank DeSilva+Phillips, sees new senior positions reporting to the CEO to implement digital strategy, with a clear understanding of how to extend the brand and with whom to partner on new opportunities. It’s critical that the existing staff buys into this new thinking and work with, rather than compete with, the new players on the team, DeSilva says. An early adopter of organizational change on the consumer magazine side is Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., which transformed its organizational structure back in March 2009 by elevating each of the three group publishers to chief brand officer, with full responsibility for their respective business units—including developing new revenue streams, setting brand direction across platforms for both business and editorial, integrating print and digital ad sales and circulation strategy. Complementing and supporting that new structure is a centralized corporate effort led by HFM U.S. executive VP/chief operating officer Philippe Guelton. Nussbaum says that all of F+W Media's positions are being transformed. Near the top of the list is the new title of community directors, formerly called publishers or group publishers. "They are now responsible for the care and nurturing of our vertical communities which include content, marketing, sales, media leadership, event management, e-commerce and e-media," Nussbaum says. DeSilva concurs that in some cases, the title of publisher is being eliminated. Now more than ever, smart, aggressive, risk-taking talent is sought after. "It is [going] toward people who are more comfortable with change, entrepreneurial in their approach to new product development and more willing to share information across traditional boundaries," Pollak says. DeSilva looks at this from a slightly different angle: “It's a generational question. Today, people who are attracted to the industry have a totally different orientation. Writing isn't everything—understanding different delivery systems is. You can’t look for what has attracted talent to print in the past.” "Our organization structure is evolving," Pollak adds. " In the media area, the boundaries between print, online and events have virtually disappeared. And in the data/information services groups, new structures are being created to enhance information sharing and develop product marketing expertise.” It’s clear that today’s changes are not about “fixing” a broken setup but rather reimagining the best ways to engage audiences in as many ways as they wish. SourceMedia provides a good example of this with its recent hiring of Julian Orbon as SVP, custom media; previously Orbon held senior management positions at American Express Publishing, Condé Nast publications and Meredith Integrated Marketing. The appointment indicates SourceMedia’s intention to diversify its portfolio beyond its core of subscription-based services. According to company CEO Doug Manoni, “Julian’s appointment is representative of our identification of an opportunity to provide our clients with expanded services and marketing capabilities.” Michele S. Magazine is president of New York-based Michele Magazine Search LLC. She previously was Lear’s founding publisher (1988) and Scholastic Magazine Group Senior VP. She also held sales and management positions at Ladies’ Home Journal, The New York Times and USA Today. COMMENTS
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