Gannett Co. Inc. s president of sales for the Upper Midwest Region will lead the joint business operations of The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.
The Virginia-based media publisher on Tuesday named Allen Jones president of the Free Press and Michigan.com, effective immediately. Jones will oversee major initiatives to grow the business, including supporting and guarding the interests of The News and Free Press combined sales, marketing and business teams under a joint operating agreement called Michigan.com. He also will be the Free Press spokesman and deepen connections with the Metro Detroit community.
The joint operating agreement seeks to maintain two separate and independent newsrooms with The News owned by Denver-based MediaNews Group and the Free Press by Gannett, which serves as general partner of the cooperation.
A longtime Gannett executive, Allen Jones, has been named president of the Detroit Free Press and Michigan.com, effective immediately.
In his role as president, Jones, 38, will oversee cross-departmental initiatives to ensure a unified approach to growing the business and serve as a spokesperson for the Detroit JOA Partnership, a joint operating agreement in which the news organizations share advertising, marketing and delivery efforts but maintain separate newsrooms. Additionally, Jones will be responsible for supporting and guarding the interests of the partnership. Allen is growth-minded and is skilled at leveraging the full strength of our organization to maximize market potential, Kathy Romero, president of LOCALiQ, said in a news release. He is energized by the opportunity in Detroit and is anxious to work side-by-side with the team to win through ideation, collaboration and execution.