The News/Media Alliance (NMA) has elected Tony Hunter, chairman and CEO of McClatchy, as its board of directors chair. He succeeds Maribel Perez Wadsworth, former president of Gannett Media.
“Tony has contributed to the Alliance’s success as a member of the board and we are delighted that he has agreed to take on the role of chair,” said News/Media Alliance President and CEO Danielle Coffey. “As we address the dislocation within the digital ecosystem, we will continue to advocate and fight for fairness. The Alliance’s work to preserve and sustain quality journalism is more important than ever and I look forward to benefiting from Tony’s aggressive, strategic and results oriented leadership approach.”
Together, Hunter, the board and Alliance staff will advocate, lobby and implement new initiatives that will support the thriving news and magazine media sectors.
Hunter’s work with his team at McClatchy in creating a digitally driven, sustainable media company is consistent with the focus of the Alliance. McClatchy’s reinvention of the business model has driven significant digital audience growth and strong operating results. This turnaround from a print-dependent model has been driven by an enterprise-wide digitization effort, investments in local differentiated content, culture change and innovative strategic partnerships.
Hunter stated, “I’m honored to assume this role and build upon the momentum created by Danielle, the board, and the NMA team. Aggressively addressing the economic and technological issues facing our industries is of urgent importance."
Prior to his time at McClatchy, Hunter led the reinvention of the Tribune Publishing’s business model and also served as chairman of Nucleus Marketing Solutions — a collaborative venture between McClatchy, Gannett, Hearst and Tribune — from 2016 to 2019.
