Steve Safran joins AR&D
I am very, very pleased to announce that my buddy, Steve Safran, is joining me here in the Media 2.0 unit of AR&D. The announcement will be made on Monday. Steve is one-of-a-kind and a real sharp fellow when it comes to new media things, and I’m delighted we’ll be working together.
Here’s the pertinent part of the press release:
Dallas, TX, January 8, 2007: Audience Research & Development (AR&D), an international media research and consulting firm, announced today it has acquired Boston-based Safran Media Group. The company’s top executive, Steve Safran, will become AR&D’s Senior Vice President of Media 2.0. Safran is a convergence media visionary and innovator, and is best known from his writings at Lost Remote, the “granddaddy of convergence media websites.” His expertise and insight about the rapidly changing landscape of local media have been “required reading” for news and information executives since 2000. Jerry Gumbert, President and CEO of Audience Research & Development made the announcement today in Dallas, Texas.
”Steve is one of only a handful of young local media Internet executives who not only see the future, but have spent the past three years building it,” said Gumbert. “He is a proven player in the Media 2.0 space and is both a leader and trusted advisor to the online journalism community. To AR&D, Safran brings a strong vision and practical revenue-generating experience from his 15 years in TV and web news. Clearly, Steve Safran has written some of the definitive articles and new thinking about digital media in the past two years,” said Gumbert in announcing the deal.
“The traditional media is begging for a lifeline right now as its long-held beliefs are going under,” said Safran. “I’ve been writing for years about the urgency of convergent media, and AR&D is clearly at the forefront of leading media companies into a new era with new business initiatives to capture new audiences. The bottom line: Local stations aren’t just in the TV news business anymore – they’re in the local information business.”
Steve will continue to write for Lost Remote, and we’ll be traveling the countryside planting the seeds of Media 2.0. In the years to come, it’ll be fun to look back at this date and see how much has changed. I should add, also, that this is only the beginning for AR&D. Jerry Gumbert is positioning the company for the future, and I think that’s terribly smart.
Welcome aboard, partner.
January 6th, 2007 at 9:02 pm
It is absolutely delightful to see two of my favorite bloggers and new media types joining forces. Congrats!
January 7th, 2007 at 7:54 am
no wonder you took the “trip” of your life a few weeks back… in preparation for working with one.
just kidding!
January 8th, 2007 at 10:15 am
AR&D is quickly becoming the “Go To” company for media 2.0. Congratulations!