Leading Social Journalist Steve Buttry Joins Journal Register Company
Friday, May 13, 2011
Will Lead Community Engagement and Growth of Blog Networks Across JRC
Yardley, PA – Journal Register Company, a leading multi-media company in local news and information, announced today Steve Buttry is joining the Company to lead the Community Engagement of all of its newsrooms on all platforms.
Buttry, who has spent the last year as Director of Community Engagement at the innovative site TBD, a local news operation dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the Washington, D.C. region that combined traditional journalism and audience-powered reporting, will serve as Journal Register’s Director of Community Engagement & Social Media.
“Steve has time and time again in his career demonstrated an ability to change and innovate,” said John Paton, Chief Executive Officer of the Journal Register Company. “His leadership in experimenting with social media and community engagement tools to expand and improve journalism has been inspiring and he is the absolute right person to help our Company in our Digital transformation.”
“I have been cheering on Journal Register from afar for more than a year now. I am delighted to be joining a company that is demonstrating daily that innovation in journalism is a result of action, not talk or wishful thinking,” Buttry said. “This is a company that understands the value of community engagement and I am excited about leading its community engagement efforts and about learning from colleagues who already are doing a stellar job.”
“Steve values the audience and understands that we must work to find deeper connections with our audience across all platforms. He will play a vital role in the expansion of our community engagement efforts, the growth of our Community Media Labs and will help us tap into the local blog networks in the communities we serve,” said Jon Cooper, Vice President of Content.
Buttry joins Journal Register less than two months after TBD’s founder and former general manager Jim Brady joined the Company to lead Project Thunderdome – Journal Register Company’s plan for engaging audience and creating content across all platforms and geographies.
Prior to joining TBD, Buttry served as editor of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and was named Editor of the Year in 2010 by Editor & Publisher magazine and was named one of 20 Journalists to Follow by Quill magazine and one of 35 journalists influential in social media by the Poynter Institute. His blog, The Buttry Diary, has been named one of the 10 best blogs on the future of the news business. He was a key contributor to the American Press Institute’s Newspaper Next project and is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on journalism and the news business.
Buttry teaches social media and entrepreneurial journalism to graduate students at American and Georgetown universities. He has pursued his journalism career in 43 states, eight Canadian provinces, Ireland, Venezuela, Mexico, Germany, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador and Siberia. He and his wife, Mimi, live in Herndon, Va. They have three grown sons and a granddaughter.
About Journal Register Company
Journal Register Company is a leader in local news and information serving 992 communities in 10 states. The Company’s 324 multi-platform products reach an audience of 16 million people each month. For more information visit the company website at www.JournalRegister.com.
Contact
Jonathan Cooper
Vice President, Content
215-867-2022
jcooper@journalregister.com
