Troy Young Is Reinventing Hearst Digital With a Wrecking Ball

Unlike his buttoned-up peers in the executive suite at Hearst, Troy Young doesn't keep an office, nor does he wear designer suits to work. Rumors have even spread that he insisted on a contract provision saying he didn't need to wear a necktie. He says there's nothing about ties in the contract -- though he claims to not own any.But that's not the only reason Mr. Young, hired in May by the privately held owner of Cosmopolitan and Esquire, is alien to the opulent Hearst Tower. His charge as president of Hearst Digital is to infuse a 126-year-old print brand founded on afternoon newspapers with the mentality and nimbleness of a digital startup. Redesigns of the magazine sites are on the way, as is an entirely new editorial mission for some of its online properties. "There's never been more pressure for Hearst to be good at digital," said Mr. Young.But he could just as well been talking about the entire magazine industry, which is struggling to reinvent in the face of intense challenges online. Media empires like Hearst and Cond Nast are seeing their titles' websites draw fewer visitors than upstarts such as BuzzFeed and Gawker. The industry as a whole is still laboring to recover ground lost during the recession, when ad pages plummeted 26% from 2008 to 2009, according to the Publishers Information Bureau. Through the first half of 2013, pages have declined 4.9%. Digital revenue hasn't proved to be the savior. Continue reading at AdAge.com Continue reading at 'Advertising Age'

[ Advertising Age | 2013-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #executive suite

Other news stories related to: "Troy Young Is Reinventing Hearst Digital With a Wrecking Ball"


Native vs Cross-Platform Apps – What’s Better for Digital Newspapers?

2 years ago it was "nice to have" a mobile strategy for large and medium-sized companies. But today the reality is that a mobile strategy is a must-have for all businesses of all sizes. And the publishing industry is no exception.  Toda ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #publishing industry #medium-sized companies #mobile strategy


Finding the Value in Digital Publishing

Digital—readers, advertising, revenue—is growing, but publishers are managing that growth in different ways depending on where their value propositions lie. For a news-driven operation, that could mean emphasizing speed and developing paid products in niche verticals. It could be offering... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #digital publishing


Sequential Adds Enhanced SelfMadeHero Digital Graphic Novels

Sequential, a comics storefront app focused on literary graphic novels, has released a new version of the app with upgraded features in addition to offering three specially-enhanced titles from acclaimed U.K. comics publisher SelfMadeHero. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Times Co. Reports Digital Subscriber Increase, but Continued Ad Declines

The New York Times Company said it added digital subscribers and slowed its declines in print and digital advertising revenue during the fourth quarter of 2013, a year of transition for the newspaper publisher. For all of 2013, revenue from digital ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #fourth quarter


Intersections: Data and Digital Advertising

As they now become digital publishers, newspaper organizations have a glut of audience insight into what both readers want and advertisers want to know. “Newspapers … are among the most trusted brands for providing valuable a ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2014-02-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #digital publishers #digital advertising


LBF Sets Digital Conference Lineup

The sixth edition of the conference will take place April 7, just before the opening of the London Book Fair. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-02-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #sixth edition


Bolstered by Digital, Meredith Stabilizes

Judging by its 2014 fiscal first half earnings report, Meredith's National Media Group is stabilizing as it continues to diversify its revenue streams and adapt to a changing marketplace. The publisher of brands like Better Homes & Gardens and Parents saw revenue increase slightly to $517... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2014-01-31 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #homes gardens #changing marketplace #revenue streams


Hearst Sets Launch for First Issue of Dr. Oz, The Good Life

Hearst Magazines will roll out its newest title, Dr. Oz, The Good Life, Feb. 4. With 800,000 copies being distributed, including 375,000 copies on newsstands for $3.99 and another 425,000 going to subscribers of other Hearst titles, The Good Life could well be the biggest consumer magazine... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Oprah 2.0: Book Club Marries Magazine, TV and Digital

The re-booted iteration of Oprah's influential book club is leveraging multiple platforms in print and digital for maximum exposure and engagement. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Hearst's New Health Division Is a Departure from Magazines and TV

Hearst Corporation, whose holdings include Cosmopolitan magazine and a stake in ESPN, is continuing its push into healthcare and creating a division called Hearst Health.The unit consists of five healthcare-information companies, as well as an innovation lab and venture fund with a commitment to... Continue reading at Advertising Age

[ Advertising Age | 2014-01-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #potential clients #venture fund #innovation lab #majority stake


Does digital publishing mean the death of the author? | Richard Lea

We used to know what it took to be a writer – you had to publish a book. But electronic publishing is piling pressure on myths of the author's lifeWhat's the difference between making money out of books and writing books that people want to buy? Turns out it's about 40% – if, that is, you... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #digital revolution


How HarperCollins's Chief Digital Officer Uses Big Data To Make Publishing More Profitable

As more readers favor Kindles and iPads over pulp-based books, Chantal Restivo-Alessi of HarperCollins is mining digital data to determine how publishers can maximize profits.Having worked at EMI records for over a decade, Chantal Restivo-Alessi knows what it's like to have the digitization of... Continue reading at Fast Company

[ Fast Company | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #chantal restivo-alessi #make publishing #big data


Mirror, Independent and Standard enjoy festive website traffic boost | Digital ABCs

Three sites buck annual trend, but Mail, Guardian and Telegraph report month-on-month declines in daily unique browsersMirror Group Digital, Independent.co.uk and Standard.co.uk enjoyed month-on-month traffic gains in December, when the festive holiday usually results in newspaper website user... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Trinity Mirror needs to stick with its digital transition plan | Steve Dyson

Simon Fox's company closed two tablet editions recently, but at the least the regional publisher is trying to make digital workThis week brought sad news for fans of Business Daily, the Birmingham Post's online tablet e-edition, which Trinity Mirror closed after just seven months.It makes you... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #central lancashire


Adobe Digital Editions promises better DRM security, improved layout support

Adobe has released Adobe Digital Editions 3.0 on Windows and Mac, a major new version of its eBook manager. The tool, which helps users browse, organize and read both free and purchased eBooks in EPUB, PDF, and PDF/A formats, offers more secure DRM, improved PDF search tools and enhanced display... Continue reading at Betanews

[ Betanews | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #purchased ebooks #pdf files


A Visit to BiblioTech: The 21st Century All-Digital Library

Ed Nawotka visits BiblioTech, the new all-ebook library in San Antonio, Texas, which is opening new opportunities for the low-literacy community. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #san antonio


Radio Times seeks to fuel digital success with print profits

Radio Times, which accounts for 60% of its publisher's profits, is undergoing a transformation to woo younger readersWhile other magazine publishers chase the digital-savvy generation of under-25s Radio Times is swimming against the tide somewhat, targeting a slightly older, thirtysomething... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #investing heavily #make inroads


365 x 365: a digital experiment that's a missed opportunity

James Robertson's daily 365-word stories are a promising idea let down by poor digital designNew Year's Day saw the launch of 365, a collaboration between Scottish writer James Robertson and Hamish Hamilton, a Penguin imprint. It sounded promising: one 365-word story to be published online every... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #print book #delivered direct #twitter feed


5 Things We Learned at Digital Book World 2014

A few key take-aways from DBW 2014: teens aren't reading for fun, ebook sales grow overseas, Wall Street discounts publishing and Amazon is like modern art. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #modern art


Digital Book World 2014: An Industry Transformed

The fifth installment of Digital Book World, the annual New York City conference on digital publishing, was held last week. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2014-01-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | All news stories tagged with: #digital publishing #industry transformed