Nashville-based Southcomm Inc. has announced the hiring of Rob Jiranek to serve as Chief Operating Officer.

Jiranek, 49, was formerly Vice President of Niche Publishing at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, TN. While there he led the launch of the company’s multi-title niche publishing division, including Good Health, Memphis Spoon and Fix magazines. Prior to that Jiranek served as partner and Group Publisher of Portico Publishing, publishers of C-Ville Weekly in Charlottesville, VA, and the Columbia Free Times.

As COO, Jiranek will report to CEO Chris Ferrell and oversee Southcomm’s publishing operations in Louisville, Kansas City, Charlotte, and Tampa where in the past two years the company has acquired each city’s leading weekly newspaper. Alongside these weeklies, Southcomm has expanded their local audience and advertising share by rolling out compatible niche titles such as Her, a specialty consumer magazine for hip women, and Nfocus, a high-end social magazine.

“Southcomm is succeeding through creative local publishing that attracts sophisticated readers and advertisers,” said Jiranek. “Our publishing formula emphasizes dynamic local content, available free in print and digitally, that engages our audience and delivers strong value to local advertisers.”

“I am excited to have Rob join our team,” said CEO Chris Ferrell. “Rob is one of the best publishers in this business. He will be a great resource for our local market publishers.”