New York-- The Online Publishers Association has announced its new executive officers for 2012. Executive vice president and general manager of digital and print media at ESPN John Kosner has been named chairman; general manager of The Wall Street Journal digital network Alisa Bowen has been appointed vice chairman; executive vice president, digital media sales of NBC Universal Peter Naylor will remain treasurer; and president and CEO of The Spanfeller Media Group Jim Spanfeller will remain secretary.
In his role as chairman, Kosner will lead the OPA in its effort to elevate the value of the online content environment, its commitment to transparency and data privacy for the protection of consumers online and its promotion of best practices associated with evolving business models.
The OPA also announced that an additional eight publishers have become members of the organization. OPA member companies include a diversity of content, with the leading publishers of general and political news, sports and entertainment information, product reviews, travel information, business and financial news and more. The eight new publishers include:
A.H. Belo Corp. owns and operates four daily newspapers including The Dallas Morning News, The Providence (R.I.) Journal, The (Riverside, Calif.) Press-Enterprise and The Denton (Texas) Record-Chronicle. The company also owns and manages the various websites associated with these properties and other niche products.
The Associated Press is an independent global news organization, delivering news and content in all formats to every platform. It is estimated that half the world’s population sees news from AP on any given day.
Cox Media Group is an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company providing digital services and operating websites for broadcast television stations, radio stations, daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications.
Financial Times is one of the world's leading business news and information organizations that provides a range of essential services to the growing audience of international business people.
Future US is a leading publisher of digital media properties and special interest publications. With market-leading sites and titles in the games, music, technology, and men's and women's special-interest markets, Future's targeted properties serve a young, active, affluent and highly influential audience.
NBC News is a leading source of global news and information. The network's portfolio includes platforms such as NBC Latino, EducationNation.com and TheGrio.com, a video-centric news community devoted to the African-American audience as well as others in development. NBC News is also the parent company of MSNBC.com along with its joint venture partner, Microsoft.
Scripps Networks Interactive delivers home, food and lifestyle content across multiple media platforms.
Spanfeller Media Group is a digital media company focused on content creation, packaging, customer acquisition, and advertising revenue generation. The first site is The Daily Meal with additional sites planned in the near future.
The OPA was founded in 2001 with the mission of bringing together publishers who were investing in the creation of original content online. The organization started with 12 founding online publishers and has since grown to 60 members. As the OPA enters its next decade of service, the new executive officers will help evolve the agenda for the organization in support of the mission of serving a dedicated community of online content creators.