DAYTON — Cox Media Group announced a major restructuring of its senior management on Wednesday, Jan. 13, as it prepares to merge its newspaper, television and radio properties.

The media company announced in December that it planned to bring its radio stations — WHIO, WHKO and WZLR — and WHIO-TV (Channel 7) under one roof at Cox’s Media Center, 1611 S. Main St., by late this year or early 2011.

On Wednesday, Alex Taylor, group vice president of Cox Media Group, informed employees in a memo of the new senior leadership group, effective immediately. It includes:

• Harry Delaney, who had served as Channel 7’s vice president/general manager, will be senior vice president of news and content, overseeing news gathering and content programming across newspapers, television and radio.
• Rob Rohr, who had served as vice president of sales for Dayton Daily News, will serve as senior vice president of sales.
• Donna Hall, who had been vice president and general manager of Cox Radio in Dayton, will serve as senior vice president of marketing and client solutions.
• Brian Cooper, who had served as the Dayton Daily News publisher, will serve as senior vice president of operations, overseeing the foundation and infrastructure of the businesses.
• Ray Marcano, who had served as Internet general manager for Cox Ohio Publishing, will serve as director of digital strategy for the Dayton portion of his new role on Atlanta-based Cox Media Group’s strategic development team.

In a memo to employees, Taylor emphasized that the restructuring does not represent a downsizing, noting “the goal of this restructuring is to generate more revenues and avoid further layoffs” at Cox Media Group properties.

Cox Media Group has 1,178 employees.

Taylor, great-grandson of Dayton Daily News founder Gov. James M. Cox, also told employees Cox’s commitment to journalism has “never been stronger.” As part of the merger, newsrooms will begin sharing information and collaborating on important stories, he said.

“We’re making these changes because they make common sense,” Taylor told employees in an e-mail Wednesday. “Our three businesses started out as one in the same, and were all housed together down on Ludlow Street (at Fourth Street) up until the 1950s. Over the years, they grew apart for reasons that made sense at the time. Now it’s time to return to the simplicity of one company.”

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7457 or bsutherly@DaytonDailyNews.com.