A senior executive of Microsoft has been appointed as the new chief executive of regional publisher Johnston Press, it was announced today.
Ashley Highfield, left, a vice-president of the global technology giant, will succeed the outgoing boss John Fry on 1 November.
As a former director of new media and technology at the BBC, Mr Highfield oversaw the launch of the BBC iPlayer and was editor of BBC Online.
His appointment may be seen by analysts as a bid to move JP more clearly in the direction of digital media, following its abortive experiment with online paywalls last year.
A graduate of City University business school, Mr Highfield started his career with the management consultancy Coopers and Lybrand and has also worked as managing director of Flextech Interactive, now part of Virgin Media.
As vice-president of Microsoft he has had responsibility for its UK consumer and online business, including content portal Microsoft News (MSN).
Johnston Press chairman Ian Russell said: “I am delighted to announce Ashley’s appointment. His combined online and media sector pedigree will be a major strength in enabling us to grow our business again.
“On behalf of the board I would also like to thank John for his major contribution to the Company and wish him well for the future.”
Mr Highfield is to be given a ‘golden hello’ of £500,000 in JP shares on joining the company as part of its long-term incentive programme.
His role at Microsoft has gone to Andy Hart, who until 2008 was the boss of DMGT’s online arm Associated Northcliffe Digital.
Mr Fry announced he was standing down from the chief executive’s role earlier this year, after just over two years in the job.
At the time, he said he intended to step down by March 2012.
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Cue the knockers’ brigade: and, go!
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Seems a dynamic appointment to me . . . . time to look to the future methinks . . . . a refreshing change . . . .
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Let’s hope JP sell their newspapers, not just close them down!
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It’s an interesting appointment, to say the least!
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Ah, so this is why JP have been stonewalling their striking employees; they’ve been too busy appointing a new CEO to have time to deal with the “mere mortals” that keep the company running.
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He’s going to need a big cupboard – that’s 10 million shares at todays price
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First job; sort the unreliable and clumsy web system.
Second job: make sure the papers that are subsidising the web have enough staff so they don’t shrivel and die.
Third job: Recruit specialist digital staff instead of expecting newspaper reporters to do the work.
Sounds like he’s got the talent and energy to sort all that.
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JP are at least trying with the web, and have some good ideas. But digifan is right, the current web system is too clumsy and unreliable.
I hope they start again – something easy and quick to use shouldn’t be that hard to achieve – but I fear financial constraints will just see more fiddling with and ‘improvements’ to the exisiting one.
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I like the sound of it, digifan and captain
websites not fit for purpose and not geared to support good journalism
papers suffering death by a thousand cuts and leaking the best people
Paper shufflers, bullies and bores stifling the creative life out of the products
Lots to do
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Let’s hope Mr Highfield is sufficiently switched on to read comments on HTFP, then. The opinions of staff seem to count very little at the moment.
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saddest thing in JP in past year or so has been exodus of some keen and talented people in their 20s. They quit disillusioned because they have been pushed from pillar to post filling holes in buckets because there are not enough shop floor staff (journalists) in JP. A lot of them were good at digital to. Management attitude was if you don’t like it shove off.
Looking at share price I don’t think things will change much.
There’s a funny side- 10 year-old kids can put video stuff up on the web quicker than JP! The company wasted tens of thousands of over-specced equipment that simply wasnt needed. You needed a degree to understand the manuals.
Hey ho and on we go. Mr Highfield is at least some hope. We have been desperately short of that these past few years, despite working our b…………………..off.
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Microshaft eh? Guess that will mean JP beta testing everything on the punters
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