Meredith National Media Group Announces Expanded Leadership Team

DES MOINES, Iowa and NEW YORK, June 9, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP), the leading media company serving American women, today announced a series of executive promotions and new leaders in its National Media Group.  The leadership changes announced by National Media Group President Tom Harty and effective immediately are:

• Gayle Butler is promoted to EVP & Group Creative Content Leader; Editor-in-Chief, Better Homes and Gardens.  Butler will now oversee all NMG creative activities, in addition to her role leading all creative content activities associated with the Better Homes and Gardens brand.
• Jim Carr is promoted to EVP & President, Better Homes and Gardens.  Carr will now oversee Meredith's large scale women's lifestyle brands – Better Homes and Gardens, Family Circle and Ladies' Home Journal.
• Carey Witmer is promoted to EVP & President, Parents Network.  Witmer will be responsible for the Parents and American Baby brands and Meredith Hispanic Ventures.
• Liz Schimel is promoted to EVP & Chief Digital Officer.  Schimel will focus on expanding Meredith's digital properties and strategies, including tablets, mobile and consumer websites.  She will also oversee Meredith's Consumer Marketing activities.

Harty also announced Dick Porter is joining his senior leadership team as EVP & President, Media Sales.  Porter, 53, brings an extensive background in aggressive sales leadership of national brands.  Most recently, he served as CEO for the Publishing Group of America.  He also served as EVP, Interactive Advertising for AOL, and SVP at Advertising.com, where he helped build top digital advertising sales teams and operations.  His background also includes publisher of Prevention, Reader's Digest and TV Guide.  Porter is a member of MIN's Sales Executive Hall of Fame.

Butler, Carr, Witmer, Schimel, and Porter will join Nancy Weber, EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, and Mike Riggs, EVP & General Manager, as direct reports to Harty.  Weber expands her role to include Interactive, Direct Media and Travel Marketing.  Riggs adds magazine brand responsibility with Doug Olson, EVP & Director, Operations and Business Development, having direct oversight of Traditional Home, Midwest Living, Special Interest Media business and Meredith's Men's media brands.

"I'm proud to be able to recognize these individuals within our organization who have worked to build our brands and business," said Harty.  "I am also delighted to have such a highly respected and innovative leader as Dick Porter join the Meredith National Media Group.  I'm confident this leadership team will help us grow and evolve our business in today's rapidly changing and dynamic media environment."

Also, Harty announced Lee Slattery is promoted to VP & Publisher, Family Circle.  Current Family Circle Publisher Diane Papazian is now Executive Director, Corporate Sales, taking the spot filled by Brendan Smyth, who is now Associate Publisher, Family Circle.  A replacement for Slattery at Fitness has not yet been announced.

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About Meredith Corporation

Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP; www.meredith.com) is the leading media and marketing company serving American women.  Meredith features multiple well-known national brands – including Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Family Circle, Ladies' Home Journal, Fitness, More and American Baby – along with local television brands in fast-growing markets.  Meredith is the industry leader in creating content in key consumer interest areas such as home, family, health and wellness and self-development.  Meredith uses multiple distribution platforms – including print, television, online, mobile, tablets and video – to give consumers content they desire and to deliver the messages of its advertising and marketing partners. According to the Advertising Industry Reports (AIR) survey of over 1,500 agency and marketing professionals, Meredith is the nation's "Highest Rated Media Company."

Additionally, Meredith uses its many assets to create powerful custom marketing solutions for many of the nation's top brands and companies. Meredith has significantly added to its marketing solution capabilities in recent years through the acquisition of cutting-edge companies in areas such as digital, mobile, word-of-mouth, social and database marketing.

SOURCE Meredith Corporation