Alma Media’s regional and local newspaper unit named Alma Regional Media

Alma Media Corporation Press release January 26, 2012 at 10.30 am EET

ALMA MEDIA’S REGIONAL AND LOCAL NEWSPAPER UNIT NAMED ALMA REGIONAL MEDIA

On November 1, 2011, Alma Media announced it will start the planning of a new operational model aiming at significant changes in both the Group’s organisation and its management system starting in the beginning of 2012. The reorganisation is a result of Alma Media’s strategy, emphasising the growth of its digital business and improving the efficiency and quality of its publishing operations.

One of the most significant changes planned in the organisation is combining Alma Media’s regional and local newspapers into one business unit. This structural change was implemented in the beginning of 2012. The new business unit has been named Alma Regional Media, and it comprises the former business units of Aamulehti, Satakunnan Kirjateollisuus, Suomen Paikallissanomat and Northern Media. The new unit will be reported under Alma Media’s Newspapers segment.

Alma Regional Media is headed by Kari Juutilainen, formerly Managing Director of Suomen Paikallissanomat Oy. He is supported by a management team consisting of Mr Juutilainen himself and Jaakko Lintunen, Commercial Director responsible for advertising and circulation sales, Jukka Raudasoja, Business Control Director, Hippu Pintilä, HR Manager, Jaakko Sipola, Sales Director, responsible for circulation sales, Jouko Jokinen, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Aamulehti, Petri Hakala, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Satakunnan Kansa, and Antti Kokkonen, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Lapin Kansa.

-The challenges we’re seeing in the operating environment of the publishing business are manifold and important. That’s why we need more and better cooperation than ever. Our goal is to increase efficiencies and at the same time improve the quality that readers and advertisers perceive. We are planning to bring together the back-office functions supporting all of Alma Regional Media’s 34 newspapers in a way that unifies the crucial processes and gets rid of overlapping work, says Kari Juutilainen, Head of Alma Regional Media.

Besides the organisational change, Alma Media is pursuing a parallel project aiming at simplifying the legal structure of the Group, in other words, decrease the number of independent Group companies. As part of this project, a new company, Alma Media Kustannus Oy (Alma Media Publishing Ltd) has been established, into which, for example, the separate companies that earlier published Alma Regional Media’s newspapers will gradually be merged. Alma Regional Media will not have separate managing directors for the different publishing companies or newspapers. As a result, Juha Ruotsalainen, former Managing Director of publishing company Aamulehti, and Matti Ilmivalta, former Managing Director of Northern Media, no longer work at Alma Media.

More information: Kari Juutilainen, Head of Alma Regional Media, telephone +358 50 435 4159

Alma Media in brief

Alma Media is a dynamic media company whose best-known products are Aamulehti, Iltalehti, Kauppalehti and Etuovi.com. Alma Media employs approximately 2,800 professionals. The company’s net sales in 2010 totalled MEUR 311.4 with an operating margin of 13.9 per cent. Alma Media’s share (ALN1V) is listed in the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Exchange. Read more at www.almamedia.fi

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