12/11/2009

Australian Associated Press CEO to Step Down in New Year


Australian Associated Press announced today that Chief Executive Officer Clive Marshall will leave the company at the end of January 2010 following his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of the Press Association Group in London.

Michael Gill, the Chairman of AAP, said Clive Marshall had transformed the business into a dynamic, customer-focused and diversified media group with a growing reputation worldwide.

“Clive fostered the essential news focus of our agency and managed the business smoothly into some well-suited diversification,” Mr Gill said.

“While Clive will be missed, his efforts and management have built in AAP a team of executives that we are confident will provide strong leadership in the years ahead.

“We certainly wish Clive well in his new – or perhaps renewed – challenge,” Mr Gill said.

Clive Marshall said: “It has been my privilege to head up AAP for the past nine years.

During that time, the company has gone through an extraordinary period of change. We have significantly strengthened and developed our news and information services whilst broadening and diversifying our revenues through a number of stand-alone commercial businesses including Pagemasters, Medianet and Newscentre.

“It is testimony to the skill, commitment and dedication of our employees that Australian Associated Press is now recognised by its peers as one of the world’s leading news agencies.

“I am particularly proud of the success of our page production business Pagemasters. In the past seven years Pagemasters has grown from a company employing 30 people providing TV listings to Australian newspapers, to one which today employs over 140 people and produces 4500 editorial and data pages each week for newspapers in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Pagemasters is receiving enquiries for its services from newspaper publishers around the world.”

Mr Marshall joined AAP in 2001 having originally spent eight years at the PA Group in a number of senior roles. He was appointed a director of the PA Group in 2000.


About Australian Associated Press (AAP)

Founded in 1935, AAP is the national news agency of Australia employing more than 600 people. It provides a comprehensive domestic and international news service to the Australian media, business sectors and beyond - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

In addition to the news agency, AAP’s businesses include Pagemasters, the page production outsourcing service; Newscentre, the news monitoring and media intelligence company; and Medianet, Australia’s largest distributor of corporate news releases.

Virtually all of Australia's newspaper, broadcast and digital media subscribe to AAP news services. http://www.aap.com.au


About PA Group

PA Group owns the Press Association the national news agency of the UK and Ireland.

For over 140 years, the Press Association’s network of journalists has been gathering news and information for the media. Today the company supplies everything from breaking news and showbiz interviews to real-time sports results and weather forecasts.

Other PA Group companies include international weather forecasting business MeteoGroup and CNW Group, Canada’s leading news distribution company.

PA Group employs almost 1500 people. Its headquarters are in London, UK with major operations centres in Yorkshire, England and Mangalore and Puna, India.

PA Group Limited is a private company with 27 shareholders, including Associated Newspaper Holdings Limited, News International plc, Trinity Mirror plc and United Business Media plc.
www.pressassociation.com



For more information contact:
Michael Gill
Chairman
Australian Associated Press
+61 (0) 2 9322 8701