Clark-Johnson: Kudos to Indy's Barbara Henry

I don't know whether Indianapolis Star Publisher Barbara Henry (left) holds an inside track on replacing retiring Newspaper Division President Sue Clark-Johnson, as I suggested in this post. But it sure doesn't hurt when Clark-Johnson lavishes praise on Henry -- as she reportedly did in an e-mail sent Sunday morning to Gannett publishers, plus top brass that included CEO Craig Dubow. The impetus: Henry's column in the Star that morning, according to an e-mail obtained by Gannett Blog.

Henry's column "touted their latest research results, re-enforcing to the reader the value of the Star,'' the e-mail says. "She wrote this the day of her research presentation earlier this week. The same day the New York Times had yet another scathing story on the death of newspapers."

The e-mail continues: "There are a couple of things here: while the column explains the strength of the Indy Star and its brands, the research results clearly shows the strategic direction we have set does work. It works. In just a year and a half Barb and her team initiated the geo strategy with community editions. They targeted specific audiences with non-daily. Indy did the right things on-line (they started the whole moms.com thing among other things). They're readership in total is UP. And, I like the way she chose to tell people."

Don't forget that Henry is more than just the Star's publisher. As senior group president over the Interstate Newspaper Group, other publishers report to her as well. Plus, she's also a member of the Gannett Newspaper Operating Committee.

[Image: this morning's Star, Newseum]