From Ad Age:
In a bold stroke that will be watched closely by the ailing industry to see if he can lead advertisers to rethink how they use newspapers, Brian P. Tierney, best known for running one of Philadelphia’s leading public-relations and ad agencies, is in the market for a chief creative officer for his newly purchased Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. The job — believed to be the first such position in the newspaper industry — is to lead a comprehensive redesign of the papers and work with marketers to create new ad-friendly formats at two former Knight Ridder papers that have long lagged behind equally challenged peers.
“I don’t want someone from the Tampa Tribune for this; I want somebody from Strawberry Frog or Modernista [or some other creative agency],” said Mr. Tierney, who expects to fill the post later this summer. “This is going to be somebody who puts a design ethic through everything we put out … and also works closely with agencies.”
Actually, this sounds like an interesting positon. I’ve always believed that daily newspapers are still relevant, at least in some form–but they can’t rest on their history; they actively need to prove themselves in this day and age. Also, with the right ad in a unique media placement you can create powerful advertising–but you have to get the media people (both in agencies and at the media outlet) thinking creatively and willing to cooperate. I’m not at Strawberry Frog or Modernista, but I’d take this assignment on.