Cox Restructures Media Group, Merges Newspapers, TV, Radio

Cox Media Group

Cox Media Group, which was the product of a reorg by parent Cox Enterprises to bring its newspaper, TV, radio and digital properties closer together last December, is now eliminating the remaining operational divisions and putting all those units within a single group. The brands will still operate independently, said Sandy Schwartz, Cox Media’s president, in a statement. But it will spread its digital assets and ad sales across all of its media properties, he added. The company also made a point of saying that no jobs will be eliminated. Release

Back in December, Atlanta-based Cox merged its three separate media divisions — Cox Newspapers, Cox Television and Cox Radio — into the Cox Media Group. At the time, the company said the group’s units would operate separately, sharing only a corporate structure. But the advertising troubles that have continued unabated have forced the company to squeeze out greater efficiencies. Furthermore, advertisers tend to be frustrated by the layers of divisions that prevent them from easily running integrated campaigns.

The company has elevated two senior execs from its newspaper and radio ranks to run the single operation. Doug Franklin, who was named publisher of Cox Media Group’s Atlanta-Journal Constitution in January, and Bob Neil, president of Cox Radio, will share the title of EVP, Cox Media Group. Franklin took that position in April. Both will continue to report to Schwartz.

Newspaper moves: Last month, Cox sold off three of its newspapers — the Waco Tribune-Herald in Texas and two Colorado papers, The Daily Sentinel and The Nickel. Earlier this week, Cox said it also expected to cut costs by moving the AJC and its 850 staffers from its downtown Atlanta location to smaller offices in Dunwoody, the AJC reported (via Romenesko) which also puts it closer to the company’s main headquarters.

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