The Newspaper Consortium has announced that it is appointing Michael A. Silver to the Executive Director position. The role of ED is a newly thought up one, but apparently one that the Consortium felt was needed to handle their many joint ventures.

The Newspaper Consortium consists of 30 major US newspaper companies, who up until this time have been largely known for their relationship with Yahoo! and the formation of quadrantOne.

Given the high visibility that the Consortium has garnered for itself since 2006, Silver’s role of “adding value” will be watched closely. He will have a direct reporting line into the Newspaper Consortium Board of Directors and Executive Committee and will have a strict directive to not only grow the Consortiums relationship with Yahoo!, but to develop new strategic opportunities for the group by way of digital media.

“Mike is widely respected across the broad media landscape because of his success developing and executing a wide range of innovative digital media initiatives,” said George Irish, president of Hearst Newspapers and chair of the Newspaper Consortium Board of Directors. “Mike’s energy and passion for media innovation round out his credentials to make him the perfect fit to lead the Newspaper Consortium.”

written by Beverly Crandon