Crain Communications

industry: B2B/Business Information

Function: Editorial/Creative / Sales

Successful placements

Greg Baumann Named Editor of TelevisionWeek and TVWeek.com

Los Angeles

B2B/Business Information

We are pleased to announce the placement of Greg Baumann as the Editor of TelevisionWeek and TVWeek.com, two widely recognized publishing entities of Crain Communications. Greg has a formidable background in editorial management in the media industry. For the past seven years, Greg has held the position of Bureau Chief at Bloomberg News where he has been responsible for a large staff of print, radio and television journalists covering business and general news. At Bloomberg, he was also involved in the management of a national team of reporters and editors covering breaking news and features on entertainment, cable, satellite, internet and radio companies. Previously, he was an Assistant Managing Editor of Legal Times where he supervised coverage of Washington D.C. courts on both the federal and local levels. Greg began his career as a legal reporter for The Daily Record in Baltimore, Maryland in 1995. He holds a Juris Doctorate law degree from George Washington University’s National Law Center and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Berkley.

Jill Kaplan Named Associate Publisher for Crain's New York Business

New York

B2B/Business Information

Publisher Alair Townsend will assume the title of publishing director in mid-September and will be succeeded as publisher by Jill Kaplan, currently the general manager of several key sections of The Wall Street Journal.

Ms. Kaplan is the general manager of The Weekend Edition, Weekend Journal, Personal Journal and The Journal Report. When Ms. Kaplan assumes her position at Crain’s, she will take responsibility for all day-to-day operations at the paper.
“I’ve loved doing this job for nearly 18 years, but I’m getting ready for a change,’’ said Ms. Townsend. “As we were doing our succession planning, we were explicit in our criteria to find someone who could bring to Crain’s New York Business knowledge of business, politics, the arts and entertainment, and the experience to back it all up to help further grow CNYB. Jill has that plus some. I know that she is the one whose hand I want to lead our paper in the future.”

Said Rance Crain, president of Crain Communications Inc.: “We are not saying goodbye to Alair, but rather hello to Jill Kaplan. I’m very pleased that Alair has agreed to continue her column, which has been a real asset to the paper. If not for Alair, there would be no Crain’s New York Business today. It will now be Jill’s job to build on Alair’s work and take CNYB on to new glory.”

Ms. Townsend joined Crain’s New York Business in 1989 as publisher and was named a vice president of the company in 1993. Under her tenure, the publication has received numerous publishing excellence awards including a recent first place from the Alliance for Area Business Publications for her weekly column under best bylined commentary.

She has also received numerous awards for her leadership and commitment to business, arts and culture in New York City, including the first Lincoln Center Business Leadership Award in 2004.

Before joining Crain Communications, Ms. Townsend served as New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Finance and Economic Development from Feb 1985 to January 1989 and before that as the City’s budget director.

“When Jill comes to Crain’s in September, I will spend the rest of the year helping her learn the ropes,” said Ms. Townsend. “After that, I will continue to write the column and be a voice for the New York business community. I look forward to being able to devote more time to writing, going to editorial board meetings and forums, and serving on civic and other boards.”

Ms. Kaplan joined the Dow Jones Co./The Wall Street Journal as an international sales manager in 1997, was later named to director of U.S. Sales for the Dow Jones International Magazine Group and promoted to her current positions in 2000 through 2004.

Prior to joining WSJ, she had worked at The Economist Group and Times Mirror Magazine Group in New York. She and her husband and two daughters reside in New York City.