San Diego News Network, the source for hyper-local breaking news, sports, events, lifestyle and entertainment information, announced today that former SignOnSanDiego head Chris Jennewein has joined the company as its President.
He holds two decades of journalism experience, and transformed the San Diego newspaper’s web site into a profitable, multi-million-dollar division during his 7-year tenure that ended in 2008.
“I’m excited to be joining this trend-setting company that will create the model for how local news is covered and distributed in the future,” said Jennewein. “San Diego News Network’s combination of dedicated journalists, committed partners and custom technology puts it in a unique position to provide local readers with simply the best interactive experience. The potential is virtually unlimited, and I’m looking forward to being a part of it!”
The news comes on the heels of the media outlet exceeding its internal projections for page views - now at more than 350,000 per month - as well as advertising revenues. SDNN’s executives cite numerous factors that account for the exponential growth in such a short period of time, including its full-time news staff, an extensive list of key media partners and award winning contributing editors who cover different aspects and perspectives throughout San Diego.
“We’re extremely proud of this team and what we’ve been able to achieve in just a short period of time; most of all that San Diegans can truly engage in meaningful conversations about things that matter where they live, work and play,” said Neil Senturia, CEO of SDNN. “Chris is going to play a vital role in continuing our rapid growth, and we’re ecstatic to have him here!”
For the past year, Jennewein was the Senior Vice President and Publisher of Greenspun Interactive, where he built the advertising, marketing and general business foundations for LasVegasSun.com and LasVegasWeekly.com. Revenue for the sites grew at double-digit rates within the last year for the organization under his watch despite the deep recession affecting Las Vegas. Web site traffic to the site also tripled in less than a year to nearly 12 million monthly page views.
Tags: SDNN
Comment by: John S Posted: June 3, 2009, 8:40 am
Welcome back Chris!
Comment by: Erik Bruvold Posted: June 3, 2009, 8:49 am
That is GREAT new! Chris is a great leader and SDNN couldn’t be in better hands.
Comment by: Michael Coleman Posted: June 3, 2009, 11:41 am
Chris, great news. Congrats!!
Comment by: Julie Wright Posted: June 3, 2009, 11:50 am
Happy to hear / read this news!
Comment by: Tyler orion Posted: June 3, 2009, 4:18 pm
Great news for San Diego- well done you guys!! Chris, it will be wonderful to have you back!
Comment by: Tom Gable Posted: June 4, 2009, 5:37 am
Hi Chris,
Welcome back! Look forward to watching SDNN continue to evolve in great ways under your leadership.
Comment by: Chris Saunders Posted: June 4, 2009, 11:30 am
This is great news for SDNN!
Comment by: Ted Shred Posted: June 4, 2009, 2:22 pm
Enjoy it while it lasts, this site is doomed. You can’t expect to be around long when you don’t pay your providers any money. There was a reason that Signonsandiego.com let you go.
Comment by: Chris Jennewein Posted: June 4, 2009, 7:09 pm
Making San Diego News Network a success will certainly be a challenge, but I’m blessed to be working with a very dedicated team.
Comment by: Larry Posted: June 5, 2009, 9:08 am
Well let’s see… first Rob Curley blew through millions in Kansas at Journal-World, then moved to The Wash Post…then to Florida… then skipped town to Vegas when it was still raking in the dough… now Vegas is tanking… so Jennewein high-tails it outta there before Curley and Co. bankrupts the Greenspuns…
Like locusts, hopping from company to company draining what they can in unprofitable online operations, then leaving. A real record of success.
Jig’s up, guys.
Comment by: Chris Jennewein Posted: June 5, 2009, 11:22 am
One of the challenges facing newspaper companies today is that they didn’t invest more when margins were high a decade ago. As Eric Schmidt of Google said recently, newspapers were in the forefront on the Web during the dot-com boom, but didn’t build on that early lead. There were a lot of missed opportunities.
Comment by: Sean Upton Posted: June 5, 2009, 10:51 pm
Congratulations Chris! This sounds like a great opportunity to build a solid foundation for competitive, sustainable, and comprehensive online journalism to thrive in San Diego.
I have concluded that the biggest challenge facing yesterday’s media monopolies have been “legacy costs” — not in financial obligations, but in cycles of missed opportunity in bootstrapping new ventures without the strangulation of incumbent business interests of the old product agenda. The ability to focus on the business of news and advertising online without the anchor of a traditional print business to weigh things down gives me confidence that there is something to hope for in a model that builds on partnerships between content providers and does not get mired in worrying about erosion.
By analogy, one can hope that SDNN is the Toyota to the U-T’s General Motors.
Comment by: Gary Knight Posted: June 6, 2009, 3:49 pm
Chris,
It is good to have you back in San Diego. You are one of the most professional, humble and gifted people I have had the chance to work with. Congratulations!
Comment by: Phyllis Posted: June 9, 2009, 10:04 am
So, how is this whole- Zero Advertising -business model working out?
Comment by: Lee Ann Posted: June 11, 2009, 9:46 pm
SDNN is very fortunate to have Chris — he’s a pioneer in the online news industry, beginning with the San Jose Mercury News’ early online presence in the early ’90s. Congratulations, Chris — and SDNN!
Comment by: Toni Posted: July 17, 2009, 10:37 am
Congratulations Chris! You’ll do a great job!