Albright grew up in the Chicago area and went to Northern Illinois Univ., where he majored in journalismDavid Albright
Sports Business Journal has named DAVID ALBRIGHT Managing Editor of its entire newsroom. Albright will be the day-to-day lead of SBJ’s news operation consisting of print, digital, newsletters, video and audio. He will report directly to SBJ Publisher and Executive Editor ABE MADKOUR and assist in developing a long-term strategy for SBJ’s news operation. “David has led newsrooms, and he has developed writers and editors,” said Madkour. “He is experienced in organizational structure and operations and will be critical as we integrate our news operation to bring all of our various publications and platforms closer together and as we build out our video and audio plans.” Albright grew up in the Chicago area and went to Northern Illinois Univ., where he majored in journalism. He joined ESPN as a production assistant and researcher in '93 and methodically began taking on more roles in Bristol. In '05, he became managing editor of the company’s new college sports operation, and executed the development and delivery of all college sports content and coverage across ESPN’s digital platforms. In this role, he also partnered with ESPN’s client marketing and sales divisions to develop and facilitate new college sports sponsorship opportunities.
After nine years in that role, he was promoted to executive editor of ESPN Digital Media, where he integrated content operations for digital, social and television platforms globally. He launched new ESPN sites in Australia and India, improved operations in London and Latin America, and worked on content partnerships in Africa and China. He oversaw the company’s premium subscription business, ESPN Insider, directed the content operations for ESPN’s local sites in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and New York, and managed the development of content personalization. Albright left the network in '17, and in '19 he was named Senior Dir of Digital Content for the XFL, where he established the digital strategy and directed the content plans for the league and all eight teams.
Albright has also taught sports journalism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and was a Fellow at the prestigious Sulzberger Executive Leadership Program at Columbia Univ. In between his time at ESPN and the XFL, Albright returned to education and earned his Master of Science in Business Journalism from Arizona State Univ. “I’m thrilled to be joining the gold standard operation at Sports Business Journal,” Albright said. “I’m looking forward to working with the talented newsroom to enhance the current offerings and develop new content executions across multiple distribution channels." At SBJ, Albright will be working with the entire editorial staff of more than 40, as well as across the sales, circulation and marketing departments. He will be based out of Connecticut for the foreseeable future but will eventually relocate to Charlotte.
