Mireille Grangenois has been named vice president of SunSpot, the Baltimore Sun Co.'s Internet site.
Grangenois, 45, is now general manager of SunSpot, where she oversees a staff of 32. The promotion takes effect tomorrow.
Grangenois' duties will change little under the new title. She will oversee the development and execution of all aspects of the Web site and report to Michael E. Waller, publisher and chief executive of the Baltimore Sun Co.
Waller said the promotion reflects Grangenois' "outstanding performance" at SunSpot as well as the increasing significance of online journalism.
"Interactive media and the online world is a very vital and important part of the future," he said.
Officials with Tribune Co., which bought The Sun and other Times Mirror Co. papers last year, have said newspapers must link up with television and the Internet to remain competitive.
Grangenois said she will focus on making SunSpot profitable by increasing classified and advertising sales. Like many newspaper Internet sites, SunSpot has operated in the red since it began five years ago.
"You'll see a repositioning of products, a new focus on marketing and promotional efforts, and more synergy because we're not just a paper product," Grangenois said. "We're paper and online."
Waller declined to release revenue numbers, but said SunSpot is close to making a profit.
A graduate of New York University, Grangenois began her newspaper career as a Sun reporter in 1978. She has also worked as a correspondent for Business Week magazine, as a reporter for USA Today and Gannett News Service, and was director of minority affairs for the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Grangenois held various marketing and advertising positions with Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. and was director of the major retail accounts unit for Washington Post Newsweek Interactive before rejoining the Baltimore Sun Co. last year.
