After more than six months without a chief executive, the New York Times has found its next CEO. Mark Thompson, the outgoing director general of the BBC, will take up the job in November.
“The New York Times is one of the world’s greatest news providers and a media brand of immense future potential both in the U.S. and around the world,” Thompson said in a statement. “It is a real privilege to be asked to join The Times Company as it embarks on the next chapter in its history.”
The Times’ last CEO, Janet Robinson, left the paper in December 2011, receiving a nearly $24 million payout, according to Reuters. Her severance package also included a $4.5 million consulting fee.
In the last quarter, the Times reported increased circulation revenue and decreased advertising revenue, All Things D reports. The paper now has 532,000 digital subscribers. Peter Kafka reports that a Barclays analyst estimates the Times could have more digital than print subscribers by early 2014.
For a read on Robinson’s ouster from the Times, dive into Joe Hagan’s New York magazine investigation from May.
