Contact Information: Contact: Paul J. Luthringer Hearst Corporation 212-649-2540 pluthringer@hearst.com or Kelly Harville 415-777-7337 KHarville@sfchronicle.com
Mark Adkins Named President of San Francisco Chronicle / SFGate.com
NEW YORK, NY and SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - September 17, 2008) - Hearst Corporation
announced today that Mark Adkins, senior vice president, advertising,
Hearst Newspapers, will assume the new role of president of the San
Francisco Chronicle and its online home, SFGate.com. The announcement was
made jointly by George B. Irish, president, Hearst Newspapers, and Frank J.
Vega, publisher of the San Francisco Chronicle. Adkins will report to Vega.
The announcement is effective immediately.
As president, Adkins will oversee both print and online revenue initiatives
and business development for the company's suite of products.
Irish commented, "Mark's new role will support and enhance cross-platform
growth and development. He has been a valuable member of the corporate
team, and his rich background and experience will help ensure that we are
innovative and successful in seeking out new, strategic and customer-driven
ways to grow our business in the Bay Area."
Vega said, "I have known, and worked with Mark in various capacities over
the last 20-plus years, and his expertise will be of enormous value to our
organization on a day-to-day basis. He brings a wide variety of experience
in all aspects of our business, both print and digital, and will be
instrumental in helping reshape the business model for our company."
Adkins serves on the board of directors for quadrantONE, an online joint
venture that focuses on premium advertisers seeking high-quality audiences
and national reach. He is also a member of the Newspaper Association of
America display, classified and market development/promotion federations
and is an executive member of the sales advisory committee for the National
Newspaper Network. He also serves on the executive committee of Newspapers
First, a newspaper sales company.
Adkins said, "Joining the Chronicle is a tremendous opportunity to become a
member of an exciting community. I'm eager to serve our customers by
accelerating the company's shift to the world's most advanced high
definition printing capabilities and rapidly expanding and integrating our
multiple digital businesses, including SFGate.com."
Prior to joining Hearst, Adkins worked for Gannett Co. Inc., publisher of
USA TODAY, for 23 years in a variety of executive leadership positions. He
left Gannett in 2005 as vice president of advertising responsible for
strategic and sales oversight of the company's then-90 U.S. local daily
newspapers.
The San Francisco Chronicle is the Bay Area's leading news and information
source and has been connecting the region with its award-winning journalism
since its founding in 1865. Combined with its online home, SFGate.com, the
San Francisco Chronicle reaches 1.5 million Bay Area adults daily and 1.6
million on Sunday. The six-time Pulitzer Prize-winning Chronicle is the
nation's 12th largest daily newspaper and SFGate.com is among the nation's
top 10 newspaper Web sites with 9.7 million monthly unique visitors and
nearly 81 million monthly page views.
Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com)is one of the nation's largest
diversified media companies. Its major interests include ownership of 16
daily and 49 weekly newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle,
Houston Chronicle, and Albany Times Union; as well as interests in an
additional 43 daily and 72 non-daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group,
which include the Denver Post and Salt Lake Tribune; nearly 200 magazines
around the world, including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and O, The
Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations through Hearst-Argyle Television
(NYSE : HTV ) which reach a combined 18% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading
cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, History and ESPN; as well as
business publishing, including a minority joint venture interest in Fitch
Ratings; Internet businesses, television production, newspaper features
distribution and real estate.