Former Daily Beast Executive Editor Edward Felsenthal is a “true digital leader,” Time Inc. Editor-in-Chief Martha Nelson and Time Managing Editor Rick Stengel write in an announcement to staff. Current managing editor Cathy Sharick “has decided to step down as managing editor of TIME.com to fulfill her dream of working for a dotcom start-up,” they write. Memo follows.
March 29, 2013
To: Time Inc. Employees
From: Martha Nelson & Rick Stengel
Re: Staff AnnouncementOn the recommendation of Rick Stengel, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Edward Felsenthal as the new Managing Editor of TIME.com. As you know, our digital evolution is one of the most exciting opportunities for Time Inc., and Edward is a true digital leader. I will let Rick give you the details:
Edward joins our team as one of the most accomplished minds in digital journalism today. His deep experience is perfectly suited to the challenge of building on the success of TIME.com—traffic is up 12% year over year—and expanding our efforts across all platforms. Edward joins us in the midst of an incredible period of success for TIME.com. At the end of last year, the site become one of the first news sites to use responsive design, providing a consistent look and feel across all platforms. The results were immediate, leading to two consecutive record-breaking traffic months in November and December. Then, a few weeks ago, we hit our most trafficked day ever for a single story with Steven Brill’s Bitter Pill cover on healthcare costs.
Edward is an expert in growing traffic himself: In 2008, he co-founded the Daily Beast as its Executive Editor, a role in which he built and led a nimble digital newsroom that grew under his day to day management from a startup to a site with more than 7 million monthly unique users in three years. Prior to that, he was a reporter and editor for more than a decade at the Wall Street Journal, where he was named Deputy Managing Editor in 2005. At the Journal, Edward earned a reputation as a deft innovator and leader. His work there included the launch of the Personal Journal section, where he guided health coverage that led to two Pulitzer Prizes, and oversight of news strategy, driving integration of the digital and print teams. More recently, he shepherded the global launch of Al-Monitor.com, a news site covering the Middle East, while consulting with digital media companies including Ustream, the live-streaming video platform. A graduate of Princeton University, Edward earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School as well as a master’s in law and diplomacy from the Tufts Fletcher School and was admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia and his native Tennessee. We’re excited to welcome him to TIME.
I also want to let you know that Cathy Sharick has decided to step down as managing editor of TIME.com to fulfill her dream of working for a dotcom start-up. It is no exaggeration to say that TIME.com would never have reached its current heights without Cathy. Over the last decade she has been instrumental in growing the site from a relatively small magazine site into a popular, award-winning destination for breaking news, smart analysis and terrific multimedia, drawing more than 10 million monthly unique visitors.
Under Cathy’s direction TIME has become a leader in social media, with 4.4 million followers on Twitter and large presences on Google +, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and Pinterest. In her various positions at the site, she has been involved with pretty much every aspect of TIME.com, from breaking news coverage to infrastructure to design and and business development to strategy. Cathy’s expertise helped TIME nab a “digital genius” designation from the NYU school of business and win magazine of the year at the 2012 national magazine awards.
As managing editor since fall of 2011, she drove an ambitious responsive redesign that now allows users to have the same experience on desktop, mobile or tablet. The pioneering project was recognized in the industry for its scope, execution and fresh, clean aesthetic, and helped cement TIME’s standing as a leader in mobile, which includes its iPhone and android apps and three stand alone tablet apps.
Please join us in congratulating Edward and Cathy.
M.N. R.S.
