Speakers

Session(s): General Session – Why Invest in Newspapers (Moderator)

Ken Auletta writes “Annals of Communications” columns as well as profiles for The New Yorker. He is the author of 11 books, including five national best-sellers. Auletta has profiled the leading figures and companies of the Information Age, including Google, Bill Gates, Rupert Murdoch, AOL Time Warner, John Malone, Harvey Weinstein and The New York Times.

Session(s): General Session – Mobile: The Real Web 2.0 (Moderator)

Ed Baig writes the weekly Personal Tech column in USA TODAY's Money section and at USATODAY.com. He also is co-host of the paper's “Talking Tech” podcast and author of the latest edition of “Macs for Dummies.” Before joining USA TODAY, Baig worked at BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report and Fortune, covering at one time or another a range of subjects: personal technology, personal finance, leisure and travel industries, collecting and more.

Session(s): General Session – The Changing Landscape in Content Licensing (Moderator)

William F. Baker, Ph.D., is journalist in residence at Fordham University and the Claudio Aquaviva Chair at the Graduate School of Education. He also is president emeritus of Educational Broadcasting Corp., parent company of WNET-TV and WLIW-TV, where he served for 20 years as CEO. Programs produced by Baker public television include “Bill Moyers Journal,” “The Charlie Rose Show,” “Nature,” “Cyberchase” and “Great Performances.”

Session(s): General Session – Mobile: The Real Web 2.0

George Bell is president and CEO of Jumptap. Before joining Jumptap, he was a managing director of General Catalyst, CEO of Upromise, and chairman and CEO of Excite@Home. Bell founded The Outdoor Life Network (now Versus Network) and served as senior vice president of Times Mirror Magazines, where he oversaw eight special-interest magazines, including SKI and Field & Stream.

Session(s): Breakout Session – New Revenue Sources

Dorian Benkoil is co-founder and principal at Teeming Media. He has devised business models, methodologies and training programs for multiple established and startup organizations, including leading media organizations, technology companies, blog networks and consumer marketers. An MBA, Fulbright Fellow and award-winning journalist, Benkoil teaches digital media management at the Zicklin School of Business, and writes and speaks in numerous high-profile venues. He was founding international then managing producer at ABCNews.com, and a reporter, editor and foreign correspondent for Newsweek and The Associated Press.

Session(s): NAA and AP Annual Luncheon

Erskine Bowles served under President Bill Clinton as head of the Small Business Administration, deputy chief of staff and chief of staff. A North Carolina native, he became president of the University of North Carolina system in 2006, serving four years. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Columbia University’s business school, Bowles began his career at Morgan Stanley in New York and later founded a Charlotte-based investment banking firm. Along with former U.S. Sen. Alan Simpson, Bowles was appointed by President Barack Obama to co-chair the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. Bowles and Simpson proposed a deficit reduction plan -- “A Bipartisan Path Forward to Securing America’s Future” -- that combines health care and tax reforms with mandatory spending cuts, stronger discretionary caps and other measures.

Session(s): General Session – Telling Our Story: Nielsen National Engagement Study

Chris Burnett-Wolle is client director for The Nielsen Co.’s print, digital and news media accounts across the United States. She has been with Nielsen Segmentation & Local Market Solutions (formerly Claritas) for 12 years and has helped clients across all industries use data to better understand their markets and their consumers. She uses her expertise in Nielsen segmentation and data to help her written media clients grow readership, drive advertiser relationships and guide product development.

Session(s): General Session – Market Analysis: The Strength of Digital Subscriptions

Gordon Crovitz is co-founder of Press+, the global leader in providing software to newspapers and other publishers to generate online and digital subscriptions. Acquired by RR Donnelley, Press+ provides technology, data and information on best practices to ensure that news publishers maximize their digital subscription revenues while retaining their advertising revenues and online readership. Crovitz was publisher of The Wall Street Journal, where he writes the weekly "Information Age" column. He serves on the boards of Business Insider, Star Tribune Media, Marin Software, Blurb and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Additionally, he is an investor in early-stage news and information companies.

Session(s): Fireside Chat

Barry Diller is chairman and senior executive of both IAC and Expedia Inc. Before joining IAC, he served as chairman and CEO of QVC Inc. and Fox Inc., and chairman of Paramount Pictures Corp. He serves on the boards of The Washington Post Co. and the Coca-Cola Co. and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Session(s): General Session – Market Analysis: The Strength of Digital Subscriptions (Moderator)

Ken Doctor is a consumer media analyst for Outsell and author of “Newsonomics: Twelve New Trends That Will Shape the News You Get.” He contributes to his own Newsonomics.com website and writes a weekly “Newsonomics Of” column for Nieman Journalism Lab. His new book, the “Newsonomics Reader,” will be available this summer.

Session(s): General Session – The Power of Preprints (Moderator)

Rick Edmonds is the media business analyst for The Poynter Institute, where he offers regular commentary on the industry for Poynter.org. He has also been co-author of the newspaper chapter in all 10 annual editions of the Project for Excellence in Journalism’s “State of the News Media.”

Session(s): General Session – Mobile: The Real Web 2.0

Jason Fulmines is senior director of mobile ad products at Gannett Digital. He is responsible for strategy and development of Gannett’s mobile advertising business across USA TODAY and more than 100 local media properties and affiliates. He is a mobile product veteran at Gannett and also ran Travelocity.com’s global mobile and tablet products from 2012-2013 in Southlake, Texas.

Session(s): Breakout Session – New Revenue Sources

Clark Gilbert is president and CEO of Deseret News Publishing Co. and Deseret Digital Media. Previously, he was an associate academic vice president at Brigham Young University-Idaho, where he oversaw online learning and distance education initiatives. He also served as a professor of entrepreneurial management at Harvard Business School. He has an extensive background in digital media and has published numerous articles on media innovation and the growth of the Internet.

Session(s): Breakout – New Revenue Sources (Moderator)

Rob Grimshaw is managing director of FT.com. In that role, he is the Financial Times board member responsible for the commercial development of the FT’s B2C digital business and product portfolio. Having successfully scaled the FT’s digital subscription business following his appointment in 2008, he saw his position expanded in 2012 to include responsibility for the FT’s print subscription business. This has now been integrated with the digital subscription business to create a single cross-channel B2C subscription business for the FT.

Session(s): General Session – Telling Our Story: Nielsen National Engagement Study

Mike Gulledge began his career with Lee in 1982 as a college intern at The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale while earning a degree in journalism and advertising at Southern Illinois University. During his 30 years with Lee he has served as advertising manager at The Southern Illinoisan, advertising manager at the Herald & Review in Decatur; advertising manager at the Quad-City Times in Davenport; general manager at the Herald & Review in Decatur; publisher Herald & Review in Decatur and in 2000, he was appointed publisher of the Billings Gazette. He was named an officer and operating vice president in 2005.

In September 2012 Mike was named Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Lee Enterprises, Inc. He is active in the community and has served on the boards of private college institutions, economic development organizations, and health organizations. He is currently the chairman of the Montana Meth Project and past president of the Billings Chamber of Commerce.

Session(s): Transformation Tour – Selling Digital Products

Christian A. Hendricks is vice president of interactive media for The McClatchy Co. He joined the company as advertising manager/marketing for The Fresno Bee and then became its marketing director. Hendricks went on to become manager of technology for McClatchy, holding that position until he was promoted to president and publisher of Nando Media, McClatchy’s Internet publishing company. He remained there until taking his current position and later assumed the additional role of president of Nando Media, which was renamed McClatchy Interactive in 2005.

Session(s): General Session – Market Analysis: The Strength of Digital Subscriptions

Laura Hollingsworth is president and publisher of The Des Moines (Iowa) Register and West group president for Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing, overseeing 22 markets. Hollingsworth worked at newspapers in Wisconsin, Washington, Illinois and Michigan prior to joining The Des Moines Register as vice president of advertising. She later became general manager, directing advertising, circulation, production, marketing, information services, online and the Des Moines weeklies.

Session(s): General Session – Telling Our Story: Nielsen National Engagement Study

Charity Huff co-founded Tru Measure in 2009, building the advertising analytics platform used by the majority of the U.S. publisher market. Drawing on a wealth of search engine marketing, newspaper and yellow pages experience, she also co-founded Maroon Ventures, a media consulting practice that brings traditional media products to the digital age. Specializing in targeting local markets, Charity has assisted both media companies and digital startups in designing and implementing go-to-market strategies. Her ability to identify and implement new opportunities for growth and revenue for clients can be attributed to her keen understanding of the local, small and medium-size business market. Charity holds an MBA with an emphasis in operation management from Regis University, and a bachelor of arts in communications and public relations from Washington State University.

Session(s): General Session – The Changing Landscape in Content Licensing

Srinandan Kasi is interim CEO and president of NewsRight. Most recently, he was on the management committee of The Associated Press as vice president, general counsel and secretary, with global responsibility for AP’s legal affairs. Prior to joining the AP, Kasi was a corporate transactions lawyer in New York City with a focus on corporate ventures and alliances in the information technology sector. Kasi began his career as a scientist at IBM, with product development responsibilities in the microelectronics area.

Session(s): General Session – The Changing Landscape in Content Licensing

Christoph Keese is president of public affairs for Axel Springer. He previously was chief editor of Welt online and Welt am Sonntag. Keese came to Axel Springer from Financial Times Deutschland, which he helped to found and where he worked as chief editor. Before joining FTD, he worked as managing editor and head of the business division at Berliner Zeitung.

Session(s): General Session – Market Analysis: The Strength of Digital Subscriptions

Michael J. Klingensmith is publisher and CEO of Star Tribune Media Co. LLC. His career includes a lengthy stint with Time Inc., where he began as a corporate financial analyst. He held various management positions with the company, including general manager of Time Magazine, CFO of Time Inc., founding publisher of Entertainment Weekly, president of Sports Illustrated and executive vice president at Time Inc. Prior to joining the Star Tribune, Klingensmith was a managing director of AdMedia Partners. In November 2011, he was named Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher.

Session(s): General Session – Why Invest in Newspapers

Terry Kroeger is CEO of BH Media Group and publisher of the Omaha World-Herald, Nebraska’s largest newspaper. Kroeger joined the Omaha World-Herald Co. in 1985 and was named CEO in 2008.

Session(s): General Session – Why Invest in Newspapers

Aaron Kushner is CEO of Freedom Communications, 2100 Trust LLC and publisher of the Orange County Register. Kushner founded the holding company 2100 Trust LLC specifically for the purpose of buying and growing major newspapers. The 2100 Trust name was derived from Kushner’s belief in newspapers’ long-term future and their fundamental strength as community institutions. 2100 Trust completed its acquisition of Freedom in July 2012.

Session(s): General Session – The Power of Preprints

Sandy Lohr is vice president of sales for Advance Digital, the digital division of Advance Publications Inc., providing strategic guidance on sales initiatives. Working collaboratively with local markets and Advance Digital’s product development team, her team delivers powerful and essential solutions for Advance communities. Lohr’s previous Advance properties include The Star-Ledger in Newark, N.J., and The Times of Trenton, N.J. She also has worked with Gannett Co. Inc. newspapers in New Jersey, New York and South Dakota.

Session(s): General Session – Seizing the Market

Terry Lundgren is chairman, president and CEO of Macy's Inc. He serves on the boards of Carnegie Hall, The Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Kraft Foods Inc., Procter & Gamble Co., the Partnership for New York City, National Retail Federation, the American Society of Corporate Executives and The United Way of New York City.

Session(s): General Session – Telling Our Story: Nielsen National Engagement Study

Mary Meder is president of Harmelin Media, one of the nation’s top-10 independent media firms, and Pennsylvania’s largest media services agency. She is a 25-year veteran of the media industry. She joined Harmelin Media in 1987 and was named executive vice president in 1992. She became president in 2002.

Session(s): General Session – The Future of Shopping; Breakout – New Revenue Sources

Grant Moise is vice president of digital at The Dallas Morning News. He previously worked with both Tribune Co. and Viacom Inc. Moise serves on the boards of Wanderful Media, Notah Begay III Foundation, Southern Newspaper Publishers Association and Online Publishers Association.

Session(s): General Session – Mobile: The Real Web 2.0

Joe McCambley is co-founder of The Wonderfactory, a New York-based design agency that builds sites and apps for publishers, media companies and advertisers. He has been waiting for “The Year of Mobile” since 1996, and is relieved to have lived long enough to witness its arrival.

Session(s): General Session – Market Analysis: The Strength of Digital Subscriptions

Philip S. Pikelny heads up marketing, circulation marketing, research and digital media operations for The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch, and coordinates marketing and digital media corporately. For three decades, he has worked in marketing or digital media for media organizations in Columbus, Las Vegas, Norfolk, Va., and Atlanta.

Session(s): Breakout – New Revenue Sources

Nathan Richardson is co-founder and CEO of #waywire inc. Prior to starting #waywire, he launched Gilt City Inc. and Gilt MAN, both part of The Gilt Groupe. Most recently, he was president of Gilt City. Richardson also is former CEO of ContentNext Media Inc., parent company of paidContent.

Session(s): General Session – The Newspaper of the Future

Alan Rusbridger is editor-in-chief of Guardian News & Media, a member of the GNM and GMG Boards and a member of the Scott Trust, which owns the Guardian and the Observer. He helped launch Guardian Unlimited (now guardian.co.uk) and was responsible for the paper's complete redesign and transformation into the Berliner format. During Rusbridger’s editorship, the paper has fought a number of high-profile battles over libel and press freedom, including cases involving Neil Hamilton, Jonathan Aitken, the Police Federation, Trafigura, freedom of information and Wikileaks.

Session(s): General Session – The Reinvention of Local Discovery Shopping

Ben T. Smith IV is CEO of Wanderful Media. He previously served as co-founder, CEO and chairman of the board of MerchantCircle. Before MerchantCircle, he held various senior leadership positions at Borland Software, including senior vice president of corporate development, strategic adviser and CEO of spinoff CodeGear. He was chairman and CEO at Spoke.com and remains on the company’s board of directors. Smith also serves on numerous boards of technology and digital ventures in Silicon Valley, including Glu Mobile, and formerly worked with the board at Tapulous. In addition, he advises other technology and media companies as well as venture investment funds, including Accelerator Ventures, where he is a venture partner.

Session(s): Opening Session – Keynote: Newspapers and the New Digital Age Community

Roy Spence is co-founder and chairman of GSD&M. Under his leadership, his agency has helped grow some of the world’s most successful brands, including “Don’t Mess With Texas,” Southwest Airlines, Wal-Mart, DreamWorks, the PGA TOUR, BMW, the U.S. Air Force, L.L. Bean and the Clinton Global Initiative. Spence also is co-founder and CEO of The Purpose Institute. Along with Haley Rushing, he co-authored “It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For: Why Every Extraordinary Business Is Driven by Purpose.”

Session(s): General Session – The Reinvention of Local Discovery Shopping

Dave Thomsen is executive vice president of product and design at Wanderful Media. He previously held leadership positions at IDEO, where he directed innovation programs for a range of consumer electronics, communications and media companies. Prior to IDEO, he led multidisciplinary production teams at Yahoo Inc., helping to design and run coverage of the FIFA World Cup. He has produced online coverage of four Olympic Games for NBC Sports and also contributed to the design, development and launch of interactive experiences for Quokka Sports.

Session(s): General Session – Telling Our Story: Nielsen National Engagement Study (Moderator)

Brian Tierney is CEO of Brian Communications and Realtime Media, and a nationally recognized expert in marketing and communications. Previously, he was owner and publisher of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News as well as CEO of the parent company, Philadelphia Media Holdings.

Session(s): Fireside Chat

Katharine Weymouth is CEO of Washington Post Media and publisher of The Washington Post. She was named to both positions in February 2008 after having served as The Post’s vice president of advertising since January 2005. Weymouth joined The Post in 1996 as assistant counsel. After two years, she moved to Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive as associate counsel. In 2000, Weymouth returned to the newspaper, where she served as the advertising department’s liaison between The Post and WPNI. She became director of the advertising department’s jobs unit in 2002 and was named director of advertising sales in April 2004.

Session(s): General Session – The Future of Shopping

Jack Williams is president of Gannett Digital Ventures, which oversees Gannett Co. Inc.’s portfolio of online classified companies and other diversified businesses. He represents Gannett in various partnerships and investments and serves on the boards of directors for CareerBuilder, Classified Ventures, HomeFinder.com, MetroMix, Imaginova, quadrantONE and Topix, as well as several other companies. Williams also serves on the Gannett Management Committee and is responsible for the development and implementation of online strategies, partnerships or investment initiatives across all digital platforms.

Session(s): General Session – The Power of Preprints

Steven Wolfe Pereira is executive vice president of MediaVest. He leads the Wal-Mart client relationship, overseeing all media strategy, planning and buying. In addition, he serves as managing director of MediaVest’s multicultural media and marketing unit, MV42°. He is responsible for multicultural strategy, cross-platform marketing initiatives and branded entertainment, advising brands such as Coca-Cola, Kraft, Microsoft, Proctor & Gamble and Post Foods.