Welcome to Technology for Publishing’s roundup of news highlighting women’s roles, contributions, and achievements in the evolving media business. This latest installment covers an AMMC panel focused on Michelle Obama’s Let Girls Learn and other initiatives, Melinda Gates’ new role at MarieClaire.com, Pinterest’s move to promote greater diversity, a new Women’s Health podcast, Condé Nast’s annual top performer awards, and more.
- Let Girls Learn The recent AMMC event was the backdrop for a number of important discussions about expanding opportunities for women—not only for those in media, but for women and girls around the globe. One panel, which featured First Lady Michelle Obama, encouraged media leaders and others to talk about the role of media in promoting efforts such as Let Girls Learn, an initiative launched by the President and First Lady in March 2015 to address “the range of challenges preventing adolescent girls from attending and completing school,
and from realizing their potential as adults.” As the website highlights, more than 62 million girls globally are not in school today, and many millions more face the threat of not being able to complete their education. Mrs. Obama stressed how critical media is in gaining support for such initiatives and how organizations need to reach out to people where they are. Other speakers, including actors Lena Dunham and Julianne Moore, shared their views of media as a platform for change as well.
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A global conversation Melinda Gates has joined MarieClaire.com as a contributing editor, focusing on issues impacting women around the world, WWD recently reported. As co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Gates has extensive philanthropic and business experience, site director Jessica Pels said in the article, as well as a long history of working for women’s rights. She’ll contribute columns, report on her travels, and consult on story ideas. “On my 50th birthday, I made a promise to myself that the rest of my life would have one central focus: improving the lives of women and girls around the world,” Gates said in her first post. “That’s why I’m joining up with MarieClaire.com as a contributing editor: I’ll report from the front lines about how the world is changing for women—and how it should change more.”
- New C-suite member It’s no secret Silicon Valley has a problem when it comes to women and minorities, as a recent New York Times article points out, giving rise to the title of chief diversity officer at many tech and social media companies. The latest to establish such a role is Pinterest, which in January hired Candice Morgan to help launch programs aimed at drawing in more computer science engineers from diverse backgrounds. Before joining the scrapbooking-based social site, Morgan worked for nonprofit Catalyst, the article said, which advocates for greater workplace opportunities for women. “Diverse teams—in terms of demographics and thought—outperform homogeneous teams on innovation and problem solving,” she noted in a statement. According to the Times, other tech companies/social platforms have made attempts to address the issue as well, including Twitter, which last month hired a vice president of diversity and inclusion, and Facebook, which has a formal training program to help managers avoid prejudiced hiring practices.
- Passion project Rodale’s Women’s Health is launching a podcast, called “Uninterrupted,” that will expand coverage beyond health and wellness to include news topics as well as cultural and political issues, featuring prominent women across industries as guests. “We want to broaden the way our readers think about us,” said Lisa Chudnofsky, Women’s Health site director, in a WWD post. The new platform, launched Feb. 1, will allow the brand “to reach a new audience across social, digital, and mobile platforms,” the article said, noting interviews will be transcribed and published online and in print as well. You can download “Uninterrupted” from iTunes or the Women’s Health website.
- Top talent Last month, Condé Nast announced its annual awards for top performers, with Pamela Drucker Mann, Food Innovation Group publisher and chief revenue officer, bringing home two this year: Chief Revenue Officer of the Year and the Three-Year Award. Other women leaders recognized included Wired publisher Kim Kelleher (Collaborative Leadership Award), Architectural Digest EIC Margaret Russell (Greatest Growth in Print Award), and Condé Nast Traveler EIC Pilar Guzmán (Greatest Growth in Digital Award), among others.
Hiring news roundup
- Linda Thomas Brooks has been appointed president and CEO of MPA – The Association of Magazine Media. Previously, she was executive vice president and managing director of GM MediaWorks and held positions at GearDigital and The Martin Agency.
- Grace Coddington is changing her role at American Vogue, shifting from creative director to creative director at large in order to pursue outside projects. Coddington joined Vogue in 1988 as fashion director.
- Amy Conway is succeeding Elizabeth Graves as editor of Martha Stewart Weddings. She had been an editor at large for Martha Stewart Living.
- Daisy Dunlop was recruited as PR chief for News UK, previously serving as News Corp’s New York-based deputy head of communications.
- Annie Fox joined Glamour as senior executive digital director. Fox previously served as head of content product at Chartbeat.
- Charlotte Gordon was named vice president, international consumer marketing, at The New York Times. Gordon previously worked in marketing for the International New York Times.
- Elizabeth Graves, who previously edited Martha Stewart Weddings, is replacing Eric Pike as editor of Martha Stewart Living.
- Mary E. Junck is leaving her role as Lee Enterprises CEO to become executive chair of the company. Junck joined the newspaper publisher in 1999 and became CEO in 2001.
- Susan Kravitz joined Townsquare Media as senior vice president, national digital sales. Prior to her appointment, she was head of global sales at Say Media, and vice president of national digital sales at Discovery Communications.
- Claudia Malley was named chief marketing and brand officer at National Geographic Partners. She previously served as executive vice president, global corporate partnerships, for the National Geographic Society.
- Jessica Torres was promoted from deputy editor to editor in chief of Meredith’s Siempre Mujer, a Spanish-language lifestyle magazine. Torres joined Meredith in 2006.
- Jen Wong is leaving her role as chief business officer at PopSugar to join Time Inc. as president of digital.
Let us know in the comments if there are any other recent stories or career moves you’d like us to include in our next Women in Media roundup.
Photo: Let Girls Learn website
Technology for Publishing’s Women in Media blog highlights the news and achievements of female leaders and role models in the publishing and media industry. Look for our in-depth profiles and interviews of top women to watch. Is there someone you’d like to nominate for an upcoming Q&A? Drop us a note!
Posted by: Monica Sambataro
