News Corp Australia has officially launched its State and Communities Mastheads division, led by managing director and publisher, Mark Reinke.
Reinke has appointed John Lehmann to the newly-created role of commercial director of the State and Communities Mastheads, which includes the Herald Sun, The Daily Telegraph, The Courier-Mail, The Advertiser as well as regional, rural and community titles.
In this expanded role, Lehmann remains in his existing role of managing director, NSW.
“Our audiences are the millions of aspiring Australians who want the best for their families and their communities,” Lehmann said.
“They are highly engaged and motivated and our state mastheads offer clients the ability to reach consumers who are making important purchasing decisions every week. By focusing on each state and its unique needs, there is a real opportunity for business growth and differentiates us from other media in the market.”
Laura Maxwell has been appointed managing director, Queensland. She was most recently the CEO of Stuff Group, New Zealand’s largest news publisher. Maxwell will join News Corp Australia in November and replaces Jason Scott who has been appointed executive editor, sport network.
Agostino Giramondo takes on the role of managing director, Victoria and Tasmania. He replaces Peter Zavecz who recently retired. Prior to this role, Giramondo was general manager of The Weekly Times, and will retain oversight of the title.
Melissa Librandi remains in her role as managing director, South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia. She was first appointed to the position in 2022.
“We know our audiences want specific content that’s relevant to them and we know clients increasingly want to execute state-by-state in a targeted manner,” Reinke said.
“Combining this new leadership structure with some of Australia’s best Editors working on some of the nation’s most trusted mastheads means we are uniquely placed to meet the needs of our audience and our clients in specific markets or as part of a network.”
The newly-formed group – created as part of the News Corp restructure which split its publishing arm into three divisions – will work to connect brands with the more than 10 million Australians who engage with News Corp’s regional news brands’ across digital and print.
This is the second major structural announcement from News Corp this week, having previously brought eight sales functions under the new client partnerships team.
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Top image: Mark Reinke