Industry Moves: USAT Publisher Craig Moon Calls it Day; No Replacement Named Yet
This story was written by David Kaplan.
As Gannett (NYSE: GCI) flagship USA Today struggles with 30 percent declines in ad revenue Craig Moon, the paper's president and publisher, has decided it's time to retire. No replacement has been named for Moon, who has been a Gannett exec for 23 years. In addition to his role at USAT, Moon also oversaw USA Weekend, the Detroit Media Partnership, Gannett Offset and the Military Times operation. Moon joined Gannett in 1985 as VP, advertising, for The Cincinnati Enquirer and The Cincinnati Post. Moon hinted that he's not just going fishing as he heads back to Nashville, Tenn., to be with his family. He plans to explore "new businesses" possibly related to online content. And while USAT and other Gannett staffers cope with pay freezes and unpaid furloughs, Moon's pension was valued around at least $2 million, according to a proxy statement filed last March .Release
WSJ: Offering a few more details in an interview, Moon said he wants to looking into investment opportunities in the media industry, saying "values are way down." Moon's exit comes as Gannett is trying to fill the vacancy left by the recent resignation of editor Kenneth Paulson.
Connell to head up ContentOne: Separately, Tara Connell, best known to reporters who cover Gannett as one of its primary PR staffers, will move over to help run ContentOne, Gannett's national/local hybrid web project. Before switching to the PR side, Connell was a reporter and editor for 27 years. Gannett is also looking for a successor to her post in PR. Release
By David Kaplan