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Mark Jannot will take the helm of Audubon magazine and will create a new integrated digital strategy for all of the National Audubon Society’s communications channels as vice president for content, Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold announced today. Jannot will join Audubon’s executive team effective May 13, 2013, reporting to Yarnold.
“Mark is a visionary editorial and content-strategy leader with a deep appreciation for nature, an understanding of technology and a terrific pedigree in the publishing world,” said Audubon President and CEO David Yarnold (@david_yarnold). “He’s going to lead Audubon in designing an always-on content strategy that builds on our historical strength but fully meets the challenges and opportunities of the digital age.”
“There’s an enormous opportunity to take Audubon’s trusted brand and powerhouse magazine and build out everything from a major social media presence to tailored digital products,” Yarnold said. A Pulitzer Prize-winning editor, Yarnold has emphasized the importance of communication in his three years at Audubon and sees Jannot’s appointment as the most important step to date: “This is the stake in the ground,” he said. “We already touch 4 million people annually through our programs and owned communications channels – and we’ve barely scratched the surface.”
Previously, Jannot was chief content officer for Reader’s Digest Milwaukee, where he oversaw all brand expressions for publications including Taste of Home, Birds & Blooms and Country Woman.
Before that, he was editorial director at Bonnier Technology Group, where he oversaw all editorial operations of Popular Photography, American Photo and Sound+Vision and served as editor-in-chief of Popular Science. He led editorial development of Bonnier Group’s innovative Mag+ tablet publishing platform and launched the first custom-built iPad magazine edition, Popular Science+. He also developed the “Popular Science: The Future Of…” television series, which aired on Discovery Science Channel.
He was executive editor of National Geographic Adventure magazine and deputy editor at Men’s Journal.
Jannot is secretary of the board of directors of the American Society of Magazine Editors and previously chaired that board’s digital committee. He serves as a member of the TED Conference core curation team, sourcing and developing speakers for the 2014 TED Conference. Jannot holds a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.
With total revenues in 2012 of $89.9 million, Audubon is one of the nation’s largest conservation organizations. Headquartered in New York, N.Y., the organization has 22 state offices, 47 nature centers and 465 chapters across the country, reaching more than 4 million people annually and playing leading roles in local and national conservation policy decisions, from Alaska to the Gulf Coast.
With more than 1.4 million readers and a 114-year history, the award-winning Audubon magazine maintains a signature blend of explanatory and advocacy journalism and vibrant photography. The magazine’s respected editorial voice plays a leading role in shaping national discourse on environmental concerns.