The New York Times Co. has made a series of staff changes for its Web site as part of its move to implement a paid content metered model in 2011.
The company has named Paul Smurl, VP of advertising, to the new role of VP for NYTimes.com paid products. He will be responsible for the implementation and financial performance of the metered model. After the build-out phase, Smurl will be responsible for growing paid products into significant businesses. Additionally, he will have revenue responsibility for crossword subscriptions and mobile game products.
He will report to Denise Warren, SVP and chief advertising officer for The New York Times Media Group.
Eliot Pierce, VP for operations and strategy at NYTimes.com, was appointed VP for advertising and digital strategy, business development and ad operations at NYTimes.com.
He will add advertising planning and digital ad operations to his portfolio and will continue to oversee digital strategy and business development for The New York Times site.
Nick Ascheim, VP of product management at NYTimes.com, was named to the new role of VP of new ventures at NYTimes.com, where he will extend the Times’ reach into different products, services and platforms, including new video opportunities.
Ira Silberstein, VP for classified products, will become VP of product management and classifieds for NYTimes.com. Silberstein will oversee the product management group in addition to the classified team.
Rob Larson, VP of digital production at NYTimes.com, was named VP for search products at NYTimes.com, where he will focus on the Times’ emerging Open Topic platform and semantic Web initiative.
“These staff changes will enable us to successfully develop and implement the metered model while we continue to drive our advertising business aggressively forward. As we focus on the year ahead, we are putting the right people in the right places to achieve our long-term goals,” Warren said.
The New York Times Co. announced last week that it will implement a metered paid content model next year after a long period of deliberation.
