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Caroline Little, 51, draws upon more than 25 years of executive and legal experience, serving most recently as CEO/North America of Guardian News and Media Ltd. Before taking that job in 2008, Little was with Washington Post Newsweek Interactive (WPNI). During her last four years there she served as publisher and CEO. Little succeeds John Sturm, who is retiring from NAA after 16 years as president.
Press release
NEWSPAPER ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA NAMES CAROLINE LITTLE AS PRESIDENT AND CEO
Publishing executive brings combination of digital, legal and association experience to the leading trade association for newspapers
Arlington, Va. – NAA today announced that its board of directors has appointed Caroline H. Little – a seasoned newspaper executive who has led innovative digital publishing companies – to serve as the association’s president and CEO, effective Sept. 6, 2011. Little succeeds John F. Sturm who led the association for 16 years and previously announced his retirement.
NAA Chairman Michael Reed, president and CEO, GateHouse Media, Inc., said Little’s combined experience in digital publishing, legal affairs and association operations, as well as her strong executive and personal qualities, were prime factors in the board’s selection.
“Caroline brings an exceptional and highly relevant range of experience to NAA and our industry,” said Reed. “Her impressive executive track record in digital publishing for major newspaper companies, and her leadership in organizations like the Online Publishers Association and the Internet Advertising Bureau were exactly what the NAA Board was seeking. Equally important, she shares our members’ passion for journalism and their commitment to succeeding in the digital media landscape. We are very fortunate to have Caroline at the helm and look forward to the many contributions she will make in the years to come.”
Little, 51, draws upon more than 25 years of executive and legal experience, serving most recently as CEO, North America of Guardian News and Media Ltd., where she oversaw all U.S. operations, including the digital news media properties guardian.co.uk and ContentNext Media Inc. (operators of paidContent.org) from 2008 to 2011.
Prior to that, Little was with Washington Post Newsweek Interactive (WPNI). During her last four years there she served as publisher and CEO, leading the division to its first year of profitability and playing a key role in integrating WPNI with other units of The Washington Post Company. From 2000 through 2004 she had served as COO, managing all WPNI product development, technology, sales and marketing activities. Little started at The Washington Post Company in 1997 as vice president and general counsel of WPNI, representing the company’s Internet division and advising clients on corporate, financial, editorial and intellectual property matters.
“I am very excited to be joining NAA, and look forward to working with an amazing group of publishers, small and large, to further integrate newspapers in all forms – including digital, print, and mobile—into the ever-changing media landscape,” said Little. “Newspapers play an incredibly vital role in our society, and I look forward to leading NAA at this critical juncture.”
Little joined The Washington Post Company after serving as deputy general counsel for U.S. News & World Report, The Atlantic Monthly and Fast Company. She was also deputy general counsel for Applied Graphics Technologies and for Applied Printing Technologies. She began her career in 1986 as an associate in Arnold & Porter’s Washington D.C. office, where she was a member of the telecommunications, real estate and general corporate law practices.
Little is a director at the American Press Institute and a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association, The Posse Foundation Board of Directors, and the Journalism Advisory Committee of The Knight Foundation. She was chair of the Online Publishers Association Board of Directors from 2005 to 2008, a member of the Internet Advertising Bureau Board of Directors from 2005 to 2008, and a member of Google’s Publisher Advisory Council from 2007 to 2008.
A 1986 graduate of the New York University School of Law, Little won the Sol D. Kapelsohn Prize for highest excellence in legal writing in the field of labor law. She attended Grinnell College in Iowa for two years and received a bachelor’s degree in English from Wesleyan University, Phi Beta Kappa, in 1981.
NAA is a nonprofit organization representing nearly 2,000 newspapers and their multiplatform businesses in the U.S. and Canada. NAA members include daily newspapers, as well as non-dailies, other print publications and online products. Headquartered near Washington, D.C, in Arlington, Va., the association focuses on the major issues that affect today’s newspaper industry: public policy and legal matters, advertising revenue growth and audience development across the medium’s broad portfolio of products and digital platforms. Information about NAA and the industry may be found at www.naa.org.
