Jane Friedman was apparently fired as CEO of HarperCollins, and her replacement is Brian Murray, 41, a Harper insider with e-book-related connections among others.
Murray has "led the company’s digital efforts which include the development of HarperCollins digital warehouse, direct to consumer marketing initiatives and the digitization of HarperCollins’ backlist," according to a press release reproduced in a Gawker post. Read his LinkedIn profile here. Will his tech background mean more emphasis on E at HarperCollins?
In fairness to Friedman, as seen from afar, she seems to have been more open to digital initiatives than the average publishing executive. But was that enough for her boss, News Corporation‘s Rupert Murdoch? Another issue is whether the real issue for the change could have been Friedman’s war with Judith Regan, who sued HarperCollins over the handling of her firing. The Friedman departure was unexpected, and in fact appears to have been a forced exit indeed.
"Random" or not-so-random pattern repeated
Whatever the reason, Friedman’s departure follows the firing of Peter Olson at Bertelsmann, home to Random House and other world-famous imprints. And the pattern is the same—an older CEO replaced with someone younger with more tech savvy. Let’s hope that books don’t suffer during these transitions.
Educationally, at least, Murray is a long way from the lit set despite his more than a decade of work at HarperCollins. A former Booze Allen & Hamilton consultant, he holds a BS in physics from Georgetown University, a BS in electrical engineering from The Catholic University of America and an MBA from Columbia Business School.
The inevitable TeleAdvice
At the same time, if Murray can let the editorial types do their work and avoid a fixation on the bottom line, maybe the news will be happy in the end as HarperCollins moves into the digital age. Perhaps he can start by thinking not just about e-book tech per se but about user behavior and the damage that DRM and eBabel have done to content industries.
One little negative is that while HarperCollins put a Neil Gaiman novel online for free, it was locked up with a horrid online viewer. Being tech-smart does not necessarily mean being consumer-smart, a trait that Ms. Friedman displayed in many ways outside the tech area. That said, I reserve judgment and wish Murray the best of luck in E and other areas.
Related: Wall Street Journal, Publishers Weekly, New York Times and Google roundup.
