(Reuters) - Former Yahoo Inc executive Shashi Seth has joined Tribune Co to lead its digital ventures as the newspaper and broadcast company seeks new revenue sources.
The company said on Wednesday that Seth was named president of Tribune Digital Ventures, a newly created stand-alone company that will operate out of Silicon Valley rather than Tribune's Chicago headquarters.
Seth said in an interview that he would not have taken the job if it were not based in Silicon Valley. "If you want the kind of innovation you are talking about you have to be in Silicon Valley," he said.
Seth most recently was a senior vice president at Yahoo responsible for products related to search and email. He also worked for Google, YouTube, and eBay.
Seth joins Tribune five months after the company emerged from a protracted bankruptcy with a new management team and the possibility of a newspaper sale.
Tribune owns eight daily newspaper in the United States including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune and has hired Evercore Partners and J.P. Morgan to determine interest in newspaper assets.
It also operates WGN America cable network and 23 broadcast TV stations. Tribune CEO Peter Liguori is a broadcast veteran who held top jobs at Discovery Communications and News Corp.
(Reporting by Jennifer Saba in New York; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
