Consumer Reports revamps editorial leadership, drops two publications

Consumer Reports announced changes at  the top of its editorial structure on Wednesday and also dropped two publications.

Wendy Bounds, who currently heads Consumer Reports’ video division, had been named executive director of content.

Bounds will oversee editorial strategy and content creation for all print and digital products. She joined Consumer Reports after serving at The Wall Street Journal in multiple content leadership and development roles across its digital and print platforms, most recently as managing editor and deputy for a global team of video producers, anchors and technical staff.

Erle Norton, has been named executive editor of digital, overseeing all of Consumer Reports’ digital content, including its Consumerist blog. Norton joined Consumer Reports earlier this year as deputy director of video, after a post at ABC News where he was executive producer of digital. At ABC Norton directed all digital editorial operations, including ABCNews.com, mobile apps and Apple TV.

Diane Salvatore has been promoted to editor-in-chief of Consumer Reports magazine. In her new role, Salvatore will reshape the editorial strategy and creative vision for Consumer Reports’ flagship print product, create new opportunities for the magazine’s integration with its digital properties, and continue to expand its coverage of the critical issues facing consumers today.

Salvatore joined Consumer Reports in 2013 as senior director of content strategy and development. Prior to that she was the editor-in-chief at both Prevention and Ladies’ Home Journal.

She succeeds Ellen Kampinsky, who is stepping down after a year running the magazine. Hired by a prior leadership team to steer the publication through a redesign, Kampinsky helped create a new architecture for the magazine as well as several new editorial features.

Norton and Salvatore will report to Bounds.

The organization’s core print and digital offerings will be amplified through social media by a team under the leadership of Kevin Winterfield, who joined Consumer Reports last week as director of social media from IBM.

As a result of its new digital strategy, Consumer Reports will shift away from smaller print publications, discontinuing ShopSmart magazine and its Money Adviser newsletter but plans to overhaul its web products and services. ShopSmart has 324,000 subscribers and Money Adviser has 135,000.

By contrast, Consumer Reports magazine has 3.6 million subscribers. There also are more than 3 million subscribers to Consumer Reports Online.