Horton hired as president of WEHCO's digital division

Jay Horton
Jay Horton

WEHCO Media Inc. has hired Jay Horton, a leader in digital media for the past 18 years, as president of its digital division, WEHCO said Tuesday.

Horton takes the position beginning today.

"Having the opportunity to lead WEHCO's digital media business forward is the best job in the industry," Horton said in a prepared statement.

WEHCO, a family-owned company based in Little Rock, owns the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette as well as newspapers, magazines, cable television companies and digital marketing agencies in Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Mississippi.

Horton has been responsible for sales and marketing as well as partner, product and platform development for newspapers, working with Scripps, Knight Ridder and the Gannett Co.

"Jay is a proven leader in the newspaper industry," said Nat Lea, president and chief executive officer of WEHCO Media. "His experience in leading digital teams and using digital assets to help customers will be an asset to our company."

For the past three years, Horton has operated his own consulting business focused on media and technology, working with many of the top companies in the industry. He also serves as the executive producer for the Key Executives Mega-Conference, one of the premier events for the industry.

"Digital already captures the most audience and the most revenue of any media," Horton said. "It's also the least regulated, with little oversight over the content that's consumed."

The challenges are great, Horton said.

"Our journalism and serving our communities' information needs has never been more important than it is now," he said. "We have to accelerate our transformation and serve our customers across a multitude of platforms to stay vital in our markets."

Horton, who will relocate with his family to the Little Rock area, fills the role recently held by Conan Gallaty, who left WEHCO to become the chief digital officer of the Times Publishing Co. in Tampa, Fla.

Business on 06/06/2018

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