Business Media Blog

EMAP Gets Carter to Board

The Guardian reports that Emap are sorting out their strategy. Following their sale of the french operation and their recent profit warning Derek Carter has been appointed to the plc Board. Derek is a man and boy Emap man and is responsible for the most profitable part of the entereprise.

The Guardian tries to argue that this appointment which completes the simplification of the group in to two (consumer and business) is a confirmation of their declared intent to be brand driven but media neutral.

I don't think it's anything of the kind. Most observers of the business media world probably thought that Carter was already a member of the PLC Board. He certainly should have been. His appontment now is nothing more than just reward for his diligent supervision of Emaps most successful but most ignored division. Ironic really, as Emap CEO Tom Moloney began his career in business publishing. He left Reed back in the eighties, it is said, because they told him he was too young to be a publisher. He would have to wait until he was 40. He left and by 40 was CEO of Emap.

In any event, brand led, media neutral is just so twentieth century. Only old media companies worry about brands. Users - readers as we used to call them - only care about the media experience and are decreasingly loyal to any media brand - business or consumer.

posted by Businessmediablogger @ 2:46 pm