Gannett has named Larry Kramer the new publisher and president of USA Today.
Kramer, the founder of MarketWatch and former president of CBS Digital Media, will oversee the USA Today newspaper and its Sports Media Group, among other properties. He must also pick a new editor-in-chief for the newspaper with the second largest circulation in the country (and first in print).
“We are thrilled that Larry is joining our team. He will play a critical role as we transform the company and execute on our strategic plan to position Gannett for success in the digital age," Gannett CEO Gracia Martore said in a statement. "He is a distinguished journalist with a passion for the news business and has an entrepreneur's drive to innovate and the business acumen needed to create value.”
Kramer is both an award-winning journalist and a media entrepreneur, serving as the first president of CBS Digital Media and initiating its March Madness On Demand streaming property for the basketball tournament. He founded MarketWatch in 1997 and sold it to Dow Jones in 2005 for $530 million.
Martore pointed to this background as reason for celebration in both a press release and a memo obtained by Jim Romenesko.
Kramer held an employee town hall Monday afternoon.
