The tough economy and massive changes in the media landscape led to some big news yesterday in the magazine world.
ASG, the owner of Surfer, Surfing, Skateboarder and Snowboarder among other magazines, promoted Tony Perez to an expanded role as Group Publisher of both Surfing and Surfer magazine.
Longtime Surfer employee and publisher Rick Irons will leave the company. Rick, right, has taken a new job as global brand manager for Dragon.
In the press release, Perez said, “There is so much untapped potential in the combined print, web, social media, and event properties of both titles that this transition represents an important step in the evolution of the ASG as an integrated media solutions provider.”
Here is the full release:
THE ACTION SPORTS GROUP ANNOUNCES UNIFIED LEADERSHIP OF SURF TITLES
Tony Perez Heads up Surf Titles; Rick Irons Departs
Dana Point, Calif. (Oct. 20, 2009) – In the face of a rapidly evolving media marketplace the Action Sports Group (ASG), publisher of leading lifestyle publications Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder and Canoe & Kayak, has adopted a new structural model. Al Crolius, Senior Vice President of the ASG, believes that unified leadership of the surf titles will enable the ASG to take a more comprehensive approach to the surf space. “Surfer and Surfing will retain their distinctive editorial voices and continue to serve their own niches within the surf marketplace. Unified leadership will allow the ASG to better distinguish client priorities and more effectively pair them with the vehicle that best suits their unique needs.” Crolius continues, “This new model has been under consideration for quite some time, but loyalty to our team and our command of the marketplace granted us the luxury of allowing this transition to occur naturally.”
After 15 years and some 36,000 pages produced at Surfer, Rick Irons is ready to expand his horizons and become the Global Brand Manager for Dragon. “The past 15 years have been some of the best years of my life,” admits Irons. “It will be difficult to leave as I have a lot of close friends here, but I am excited to embark on this new adventure and can rest easy knowing that I am leaving it in good hands.”
Tony Perez has been promoted to Group Publisher of Surfer and Surfing Magazines. To help manage this task Jeremy Schluntz has been promoted to Associate Publisher. Additionally, Surfer Editor, Joel Patterson and Travis Ferré, Editor of Surfing, will have more autonomy as leaders of their respective editorial staffs, which will help further cultivate the distinct and organic differences between the two titles.
Crolius is confident that Perez and Schluntz are up to the task. “Rick has been a huge part of the success of Surfer Mag,” says Crolius. “But there truly is no better candidate than Perez to serve as the Group Publisher.”
Perez believes there are numerous strategic advantages that can be derived from unified leadership. “I am excited and honored to take on the role of Group Publisher,” says Perez. “There is so much untapped potential in the combined print, web, social media, and event properties of both titles that this transition represents an important step in the evolution of the ASG as an integrated media solutions provider.”
“We wish Rick the best of luck in all his future endeavors,” says Crolius. “This is an exciting time for the ASG and we are eager to grow and evolve our business.”
About Source Interlink Media’s Action Sports Group (ASG)
Reaching more than two million enthusiasts, Source Interlink Media’s Action Sports Group (ASG) is the dominant force in the action sports and adventure sports arenas. In addition to publishing leading lifestyle publications such as Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, Skateboarder, Bike, Powder and Canoe & Kayak, Source Interlink Media’s ASG delivers a cutting-edge network of online properties, events and television programming. www.actionsportsgroup.net
Media Contacts:
Elishia Matta
Public Relations Manager
P: 949-661-5149
elishia.matta@sorc.com
Tony Perez
Group Publisher
(949) 940-9607
tony.perez@sorc.com
Jeremy Schluntz
Associate Publisher
(949) 661-5106
jeremy.schluntz@sorc.com
