Clark Gilbert

Clark Gilbert is the President and CEO of the Deseret News and also of Deseret Digital Media. He is the first person to ever hold the title of president of the Deseret News.

Gilbert earned his bachelors degree at Brigham Young University (BYU). He has a masters degree from Stanford University and a Doctorate of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Gilbert was a professor at Harvard Business School. While there he was an adviser to the American Press Institute's Newspaper Next project on ways for newspapers to transition to the digital age.

After being a professor at Harvard, Gilbert joined the faculty of BYU-Idaho where he served as Associate Academic Vice President of Academic Development.

In 2009 Gilbert became the CEO of the newly formed Deseret Digital Media, a subsidiary corporation of Deseret Management Corporation that runs the websites of the Deseret News, Church News, Mormon Times, KSL radio and Deseret Book.

In May of 2010 Gilbert was appointed president of the Deseret News. He did not replace Jim Wall the publisher or Joseph A. Cannon the editor, but fills a new role in the organization.

In August of 2010, with Gilbert at the helm, the Deseret News laid off 43 percent of its workforce.

Gilbert unveiled a set of six themes that would guide the paper's coverage -- previously distinguished by its lack of oversight from the LDS Church and a strict devotion to impartiality -- from that time forward: 1. The Family, 2. Financial Responsibility, 3. Excellence in Education, 4. Care for the Needy, 5. Values in Media, and 6. Faith in the Community.

Using his theory of "disruption" economics, Gilbert has tried to pinpoint the cost of each story and achieve a more cost-effective story output. In February of 2011, Gilbert was the keynote speaker at a conference in St. Petersburg, Fla., where Borrell Associates CEO Gordon Borrell named him the "Innovator of the Year." Gilbert has also spoken to regional newspapers and editors about ways to better monetize journalism.

Under Gilbert, the Deseret News has reported a boost in all aspects of its circulation, but some of its numbers have been disproved by The Salt Lake Tribune and Salt Lake City Weekly.

As part of Gilbert's plan to "lead and innovate," the Deseret News and KSL created Deseret Connect, a network of freelance contributors under the direction of Matt Sanders. Much of Deseret Connect's content has been featured prominently on the Deseret News homepage, though the print paper has largely remained the work of full- and part-time staff.

In November 2011, it was revealed that the mayor of Utah's West Valley City, Michael K. Winder, wrote under a pen name as a Deseret Connect contributor about city hall events, and that his stories were featured in the Deseret News. Gilbert said he was "concerned" that somebody would misrepresent himself in such a way.

Gilbert and his wife Christine are the parents of seven children.

References

• Deseret Media's announcement about Gilbert's apointment
• short bio of Gilbert
• Deseret Digital Media bio
• http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-deseret-news-unveils-bold-new-direction-for-newspaper-101887308.html
• http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12230812
• http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705394131/West-Valley-City-mayor-admits-using-false-identity-to-write-news-stories.html?pg=1
• http://www.niemanlab.org/2011/04/the-newsonomics-of-story-cost-accounting/
• http://www.borrellassociates.com/aboutus/pressreleases/228-clark-gilbert-innovator-of-the-year-for-local-online-media-
• http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705372009/Deseret-News-posts-circulation-gains-bucking-national-trend-of-declining-print-circulation.html
• http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/blog-4249-5654-fine-print-the-deseret-news-spins-its-circulation-numbers.html

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Name	Gilbert, Clark
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