Next Issue Media Names CEO

Digital publishing consortium Next Issue Media has named a permanent CEO, choosing someone with deep technology roots to help its five publishing company owners take advantage of consumers’ shift to reading on digital devices. Morgan Guenther (pictured) takes over immediately for interim managing director and ex-Time Inc. exec John Squires, who is stepping down. Guenther most recently served as chairman and CEO of AirPlay, a wireless entertainment services company. Before that, he was president of TiVo. He’ll operate from Next Issue’s new San Francisco office. Squires had led the consortium since it was formally announced six months ago and was initially seen as a contender for the permanent CEO role. But based on interviews with people who were approached for the job or had knowledge of the search, the board representing the five investors wanted someone with pure digital experience. “At TiVo, Morgan helped change the way people watch television. With Next Issue Media, he will help us stimulate digital innovations that redefine, personalize and enhance the experience of reading magazines, newspapers and other types of content,” said Robert Sauerberg Jr., group president of consumer marketing at Conde Nast and chairman of the Next Issue's board. “Morgan will continue to build upon the strong groundwork, strategic thinking and product development that John Squires initiated.” Next Issue has been quiet since it was formed last December, with backing from Hearst, Time Inc., Conde Nast, Meredith and News Corp., to establish publishing standards for forthcoming e-readers and digital tablets and open a digital storefront. In a conference call with investors in April, Meredith CEO Steve Lacy said Next Issue would unveil the storefront in May; that deadline obviously has passed. Meanwhile, there’s been growing skepticism about the venture’s ability to meet its goals, given the large number of devices expected to hit the market in the year ahead. In addition to getting agreement on publishing standards from multiple manufacturers, Next Issue will have to create a one-size-fits-all publishing technology and keep it updated. The venture also will have to compete with other, more established online marketplaces for digital content. The venture’s partners also have been busy working individually to figure out how to present their publications to digital readers and wrestle consumer dollars from their digital content. Yesterday, News Corp. bought Skiff, a Hearst-incubated startup, for its digital publishing technology, and made an investment in Journalism Online, a venture set up to help publishers collect money from Web-content users.

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Next Issue Media Names CEO

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