GateHouse loses its top content and development veep

David Arkin

David Arkin, GateHouse Media's senior vice president for content and product development, has announced plans to leave GateHouse July 7 to become chief content officer for Community Impact, a group of 21 award-winning, hyper-local newspapers serving communities in the Austin, Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston markets. The free newspapers have a total circulation of 1.6 million.

In making the announcement to GateHouse staff, Chief Executive Kirk Davis said: "David has accomplished an enormous amount over the last several years. He launched our Center for News & Design in May of 2014 which today provides editing and design services for 220 GateHouse newspapers and is also home to More Content Now, our niche content business, and Community Content, which processes briefs and events for our papers. Reflecting the quality of its work, the Center has recently begun to take on significant commercial clients.

"David used our centralized content services platform to develop innovative programs focused on quality journalism. For example, Pinnacle, our national enterprise reporting mentorship program, continues to produce great work like the recent piece examining the impact of substitute teachers in America.

"Finally, David has led the transition of our newsroom culture from print to digital to mobile first. He initiated large-scale programs like reporter-produced video, social media engagement and digital journalism training, and focused our newsrooms on new, organizational structures and the use of digital analytics. And, most recently, David led the development of the new, Garcia-designed responsive sites that we are currently rolling out."

Davis said the company will begin the process of identifying Arkin's replacement immediately.