NEW YORK, January 15, 2019 – Hearst announced today that Mark Medici, former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Hearst Newspapers, has been promoted to president of the Houston Chronicle. The announcement was made by Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst; Jeff Johnson, president of Hearst Newspapers; and John McKeon, president of Hearst Texas Newspapers and publisher of the Houston Chronicle. The announcement is effective immediately.
Medici will report to McKeon and assume responsibility for all business operations. He will retain his group role in overseeing consumer marketing strategy. McKeon remains publisher—with overall responsibility for the Houston Chronicle as well as Hearst’s six other daily Texas newspapers, the San Antonio Express-News, Beaumont Enterprise, Laredo Morning Times, Midland Reporter-Telegram, Conroe Courier and Plainview Daily Herald, 30 weekly newspapers and 24 associated digital businesses, including Chron.com, HoustonChronicle.com, mySA.com and ExpressNews.com.
Commenting jointly on the announcement, Johnson and McKeon said: “Mark is an accomplished forward-thinking executive with a passion for the media business. His successful track record during his career and collaborative approach will help ensure the Houston Chronicle continues to be a thriving organization with an exceptional management team.”
Medici said:“I am honored to be part of the talented team at the Chronicle and look forward to working with John in my new role. The Chronicle is a pillar in our industry, and in a city like Houston, and a state like Texas, it is essential to have a strong independent news voice. I plan to build upon our strong operating performance and engage with our readers and with the business community to support our mission of providing high quality enterprise storytelling and in-depth investigative reporting.”
Medici was named executive vice president and CMO of Hearst Newspapers in June 2018, overseeing the consumer marketing strategy for all Hearst Newspapers across platforms, as well as directly overseeing consumer revenue and marketing for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News.
He joined Hearst Newspapers from Cox Media Group where he served as vice president of audience and newspaper operations (2011 to 2018). Prior to that, he spent four years at A.H. Belo (2007 to 2011) as vice president of audience for The Dallas Morning News. From 1997 to 2007, Medici worked at Advance Publications as an outside sales representative and later became director of audience for The Oregonian.
Medici holds a bachelor’s degree in American History from the University of Washington.
Hearst Newspapers is the operating group responsible for Hearst’s newspapers, local digital marketing services businesses and directories. With more than 4,000 employees across the nation, Hearst Newspapers publishes 24 dailies and 64 weeklies, including the Houston Chronicle, San Francisco Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News and Albany Times Union. It also operates digital marketing services and directories businesses under the LocalEdge brand.
(This post taken from a Hearst release)
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