Paul Bascobert has joined Column as an adviser. He has led a storied career in the media industry, serving in executive roles at Dow Jones, Bloomberg and Gannett, where he acted as chief executive officer.
In announcing the appointment, CEO and Founder Jake Seaton said: "Paul cares deeply about the future of the publishing industry and recognizes the importance of deploying innovative new technologies and business models at scale. He has been an incredible mentor to me and to the Column team throughout our journey, especially as we have navigated the implementation of our product with some of the largest media enterprises in America."
As a member of Column's advisory board, Bascobert's experience will help Column reach new markets and forge relationships with industry partners.
Seaton said, "Paul understands public notice to be one of the most pressing challenges facing newspapers today and recognizes the opportunity for innovation in the category."
"Public notice is an arcane but increasingly important component of publishers' P&L, and Column will be the company to watch for innovation in this market," Bascobert said. "Column’s platform is robust and scalable today, with future components to help publishers unlock revenue in additional services and market intelligence. I am looking forward to helping them grow.”
Bascobert added that he believes in Column's ability to build a public notice solution that benefits the industry as a whole.
“Column is an incredible team of entrepreneurs revolutionizing information services for the publishing industry. The group has a remarkable track record of developing scalable software for the government and media sectors, and they are years ahead of the pack in their vision for the future of the media’s public notice business," Bascobert said.
Seaton added: "We are extremely excited to work with Paul as we continue to improve our product offerings and partner with publishers across the country."
