Digital Veteran Taking Reins of Philly.Com
By Gloria Campisi, Philadelphia Daily News
Mar. 9–Eric Grilly, a leader in the newspaper industry’s move into the digital age, has been named president of Philly.com, it was announced yesterday.
Brian P. Tierney, chief executive of Philadelphia Media Holdings and publisher of the Daily News and Inquirer, said Grilly — formerly top online executive with MediaNews Group of Denver — is ideally suited to take over the rapidly growing Philly.com, where traffic has increased more than a third over the last year.
“He is smart, entrepreneurial and has been involved in some of the most important online initiatives that the newspaper industry has experienced,” Tierney said.
He said Grilly’s career “has spanned the migration of the newspaper industry into the digital realm.”
“I can’t think of a better place to be than in Philadelphia,” Grilly said.
He called the Daily News and Inquirer “two of the most respected journalistic names in the business” and said there was a “tremendous foundation” here for “even greater digital growth and the development of new digital properties.”
Grilly, a graduate of the University of California, Davis, will be responsible for all digital operations, from content and new-product development to finances and technology. He will report to Tierney.
Before joining MediaNews Group, a newspaper chain, in 1999, Grilly was vice president of interactive media at the Denver Post, responsible for the highly successful DenverPost.com.
Tierney said traffic has grown on Philly.com, the region’s No. 1 Web site, to more than 31 million monthly page views from fewer than 23 million in the same period last year.
“In addition, the successful recent launch of Phillycars.com demonstrates how philly.com is the cornerstone but not the only part of our online strategy,” Tierney said.
He said plans are to “continue the growth of our digital properties by launching new products and services.”
At MediaNews Group, Grilly was responsible for the direction of interactive media and managed the company’s strategic investments in core businesses and technologies.
Under Grilly’s leadership, DenverPost.com became the most-trafficked news site in Colorado and was named by the Industry Standard as one of the “Most Addictive Sites on the Web in 1999.”
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