Unceremoniously dumped as President and CEO of Westwood One in October 2008, Tom Beusse has been named to a high-ranking position at Gannett, based in New York. He’s been named to the newly created position of President of USA Today Sports Media Group, which includes TV and Internet responsibilities as well as the national newspaper.
In his new job, Beusse will be responsible for overseeing business and strategy for national sports initiatives across USA Today, as well as Gannett’s 82 daily newspaper properties, 23 broadcast television stations, HighSchoolSports.net and BNQT.com.
“Tom is a seasoned media executive and we are excited about the experience he brings to Gannett. His leadership will provide us with the vision to help grow our national sports initiatives,” said USA Today President and Publisher David L. Hunke in announcing the hiring.
Gannett provided this bio:
“Beusse joins USA Today with more 20 years of experience ranging from digital start-ups to some of the most well-known media brands in the country. He most recently was president and CEO of Westwood One, Inc., a publicly owned content syndication company focused largely on network and local radio. Prior to Westwood One, he was president of Time4 Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner. In his role, he was responsible for 18 consumer brands including GOLF Magazine, This Old House and Warren Miller Entertainment. Prior to that, he spent five years as president of magazine publishing at Rodale, Inc. His previous experience includes serving as senior vice president of sales and marketing for Broadband Sports. Beusse spent seven years in various advertising sales management roles at Sports Illustrated from 1992 – 1999 after starting his career at Young & Rubicam advertising. Beusse is a graduate of Ithaca College with a bachelor’s degree in English literature and advertising/public relations. He and his wife, Sharon, and four children reside in New Canaan, CT.”
RBR-TVBR observation: Bet that’s a name you never expected to see again in an RBR-TVBR story. While the new job does include some broadcast TV responsibilities, the focus is in areas where Beusse had been more successful, including sports media, print and online.
