Mike Rowley, currently digital director, will become managing director of Northcliffe Digital and will take responsibility for developing the digital assets focused around the "This is" network of sites. Northcliffe Digital will become a standalone business unit but with close connections to Northcliffe's print-based publishing activities.
A new team of dedicated digital publishers will be appointed to focus solely on the "This is" network – based around 21 key sites that deliver the overwhelming majority of its 4m+ monthly unique users and 50m+ page views. Robert Hardie, currently content strategy director, will become publishing director, with Russell Scott driving the commercial strategy including the business directory unit, as digital commercial director.
A new design template for the sites, based on maximising the impact of the group's existing news, sport and local information content, will go live in the first quarter of 2010.
Michael Pelosi, managing Director of Northcliffe Media, commented: "We have already built a sizeable audience for the 'This is' network. Our editorial and commercial teams have done a fantastic job in integrating digital into our business. This new team will give even greater focus to our digital activities with the aim of increasing audience, user interactivity and maximising response for advertisers."
