Parent company of Georgia Straight and NOW Magazine appoints former senior media executive to its board

The company that owns Canada's two best-known alternative news and entertainment weekly papers will soon have a new director with an extensive background in media.

On August 1, Carolyn R. Wall will join the board of Media Central Corporation, which is the parent company of the Georgia Straight and NOW Magazine. Media Central also owns the CannCentral.com and ECentralSports.com online publications.

Wall has more than 30 years' experience as a senior media executive in publishing, broadcasting, online, and strategic-content marketing and branding, according to a Media Central news release.

At various times in her career, Wall has been publisher of New York Magazine, executive vice president of Murdoch Magazines, and vice president and general manager of the New York television station WNYW. She oversaw a rebranding effort leading to the creation of Fox 5.

“I especially liked the organic nature of the business from the start,” Wall said in a 2009 Fordham University TV Oral History Project interview. “With the exception of the logo and design of the magazine, it was a brand-new product every day, every week of every month."

She's eager to share this passion within the company for creating something new on a regular basis.

"I am very excited about contributing to that mindset with all of Media Central’s media platforms for the benefit of readers and advertisers,” Wall declared in the news release.

The Advertising Women of New York once named Wall "Woman of the Year" and she later served as president of that organization, the news release stated.

In addition, Wall is a founding director of the Foundation for Minority Interests in Media and a charter member of Media Partners in Progress.

Wall has also been involved in community issues, serving as a director of the New York Urban League. That's a high-profile civil-rights group, which helps disadvantaged New Yorkers gain equal opportunities in employment, education, health care, housing, and civic participation.

As a member of the Media Central board, Wall will chair the audit committee and offer advice on content, sales, and brand positioning for NOW Magazine and the Georgia Straight.

She will be doing the same with the company's emerging products, such as Creator News, which was launched to diversify the company's revenue sources and scale up the overall audience.

Media Central board chair Emmanuel Manos Pavlakis said in the news release that he's "honoured and excited" by Wall joining the board as an independent director.

“Her track record in several facets of the media sector will complement the deep executive experience of our current board members as well as senior management at the operating level," Pavlakis said.

"She will play an integral role in Media Central’s existential focus on increasing shareholder value.”