Veteran newspaper executive Caroline Little will take over as President and CEO of the Newspaper Association of America on September 6th. She was selected by the NAA board of directors to succeed John Sturm, who recently announced retirement plans.
Little, 51, draws upon more than 25 years of executive and legal experience, stepping down last year as CEO, North America of Guardian News and Media Ltd., where she oversaw all US operations, including the digital news media properties guardian.co.uk and ContentNext Media Inc. (operators of paidContent.org) from 2008 to 2011.
Prior to that, Little was with Washington Post Newsweek Interactive (WPNI). During her last four years there she served as publisher and CEO, leading the division to its first year of profitability and playing a key role in integrating WPNI with other units of The Washington Post Company. From 2000 through 2004 she had served as COO, managing all WPNI product development, technology, sales and marketing activities. Little started at The Washington Post Company in 1997 as vice president and general counsel of WPNI, representing the company’s Internet division and advising clients on corporate, financial, editorial and intellectual property matters.
“Caroline brings an exceptional and highly relevant range of experience to NAA and our industry. Her impressive executive track record in digital publishing for major newspaper companies, and her leadership in organizations like the Online Publishers Association and the Internet Advertising Bureau were exactly what the NAA Board was seeking. Equally important, she shares our members’ passion for journalism and their commitment to succeeding in the digital media landscape. We are very fortunate to have Caroline at the helm and look forward to the many contributions she will make in the years to come,” said NAA Chairman Michael Reed, CEO of GateHouse Media.
“I am very excited to be joining NAA, and look forward to working with an amazing group of publishers, small and large, to further integrate newspapers in all forms – including digital, print, and mobile — into the ever-changing media landscape,” said Little. “Newspapers play an incredibly vital role in our society, and I look forward to leading NAA at this critical juncture.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Little certainly has credentials in the area most important to the future of NAA members – growing digital platforms. The business of newspapers has been pretty ugly for a good while now, with 19 straight quarters of declining revenues.
