NEW YORK -- Four new directors and five incumbents were named to The Associated Press board of directors, it was announced at AP’s annual meeting today at its New York headquarters.
Joining the AP cooperative’s board as new directors are Emily Barr, president and CEO of Graham Media Group; Lisa DeSisto, CEO of MaineToday Media; William Lewis, CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal; and Michael Newhouse, director and senior executive of Advance/Newhouse.
Barr joined Graham Media Group, the television broadcasting division of Graham Holdings Company, in July 2012. The group owns seven local stations in top-70 markets, as well as Social News Desk, which provides social media management tools to newsrooms. Barr had previously been president and general manager of ABC7 Chicago (WLS-TV) since April 1997.
DeSisto joined MaineToday Media, the state’s largest media company, in November 2012, leading a turnaround strategy for the company and overseeing its smooth transition to new owner Reade Brower. Previously DeSisto served as chief advertising officer for The Boston Globe and general manager for Boston.com.
Lewis was appointed to his current position in May 2014 after serving as chief creative officer for News Corp., responsible for the company’s creative strategy and developing new commercial opportunities. Lewis joined News Corp. in 2010 as group general manager of U.K. news. Previously he was editor-in-chief of Telegraph Media Group.
Newhouse is a director and senior executive at Advance/Newhouse, a privately-owned group of media companies publishing newspapers in more than 25 U.S. cities, as well as websites and other digital products. The company’s other operations include Conde Nast, American City Business Journals, 1010data, Inc. and POP, Inc. It is also the majority owner of Reddit, Inc.
DeSisto, Lewis and Newhouse were elected to the board by members and Barr was appointed by directors.
The four incumbents re-elected to the board are:
- Terry Kroeger, president and CEO of BH Media Group.
- Robin McKinney Martin, owner of the Santa Fe New Mexican and the Taos News.
- James Moroney, chairman, president and CEO of A.H. Belo Corporation.
- David Paxton, president and CEO of Paxton Media Group.
Rob King, senior vice president of Sports Center and News for ESPN, was reappointed to the board.
Vice Chairman Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst Corporation, becomes chairman of the AP Board of Directors. Swartz was elected to the AP board in 2009. He succeeds Mary Junck, executive chairman of Lee Enterprises, Inc., who has completed a five-year term as chairman. Junck joined the AP board as a director in 2004.
The AP board has 21 directors. Directors are elected by members, or appointed to the AP board by directors.
Each director is eligible to serve up to a total of nine years, although the chairman is exempt from that rule.
The 2016 Annual Report is available online.
Contact
Lauren Easton
Director of Media Relations
The Associated Press
212-621-7005
leaston@ap.org
