Carolinas | More evidence of regional dailies?

In September, the five-newspaper Louisiana group hired a regional editor -- the latest sign, I wrote at the time, that Corporate may be leaning toward creating single regional newspapers in lieu of individual ones serving specific markets.

Awtry

Today, the two-paper Carolina group announced that Josh Awtry had been promoted to regional executive editor, overseeing the Asheville Citizen-Times in North Carolina and the The Greenville News in South Carolina. Awtry is currently the top editor of the Fort Collins Coloradoan.

Coincidentally -- or not -- the president of the Louisiana group, Judi Terzotis, was promoted to that job after working as publisher at Fort Collins. Indeed, as of September, and even as she ran Louisiana, Terzotis was supposed to oversee Fort Collins as well.

Today's move leaves me wondering whether Terzotis is now helping Corporate export the regional editor concept to other Gannett markets. Of course, the Carolinas and Louisiana aren't the first to go this route. There are regional editors for three Central New York newspapers; six papers in New Jersey, and 10 small dailies in Ohio. Other areas ripe for regionalizing are the 10 Wisconsin papers.

Awtry will be based in Asheville. The paper's staff list currently doesn't list a top editor. Greenville's senior-most news executive, Managing Editor Chris Weston, announced last week that he was retiring after 37 years at the paper.

Asheville and Greenville are about an hour apart.

[Photo: News]

Louisiana | Memo hints at creating regional dailies

This morning, the president of the five-newspaper Louisiana group offered the latest sign Corporate may be leaning toward creating single regional newspapers in place of individual ones serving specific markets.

Terzotis

In a memo, Judi Terzotis announced she'd hired Cindy McCurry-Ross from Corporate's News Department for the new position of regional editor.

"Cindy will work directly with the editors at each site to strengthen the news operations in the individual markets as well as build out a regional news network for the state," Terzotis wrote. (Full memo text, below.)

Costs should be substantially lower in a regional approach, where current newsrooms could be treated more like slimmed-down community-based news bureaus with fewer layers of highly paid editors and executive editors. 

Fewer reporters, too. For example, a reporter could be encouraged to write back-to-school features that touch on all five Louisiana markets rather than just one. Overnight, one reporter is doing the work of five. Bye-bye, four features writers. 

McCurry-Ross

In less dramatic fashion, this has already started under regional editors at three Central New York newspapers, another six in New Jersey, and 10 small dailies in Ohio. There, however, individual papers are still published under their historic flags. Other areas ripe for regionalizing are the 10 Wisconsin papers.

Gannett's most high-profile and longest-running regional is The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. That experiment has been one of the company's messiest, however.

Westchester ranked No. 10 in weekday circulation losses among the company's 81 community dailies between 2005-2012. Sales fell 46% during the period, to barely 72,000 from 133,000.

Text of Terzotis memo
Good Morning,

I’m thrilled to announce the appointment of Cindy McCurry-Ross to Gannett Louisiana regional editor. Cindy will work directly with the editors at each site to strengthen the news operations in the individual markets as well as build out a regional news network for the state.

Cindy comes to us with a wealth of experience. For the past two years she has been on the corporate news staff working with Kate Marymont on key projects across USCP. Prior to her corporate stint, she was the assistant managing editor and senior managing editor in Fort Meyers. She’s a seasoned journalist that understands audiences and cares deeply about improving the communities we serve.

Cindy reports directly to me and will be based in Lafayette.

Please extend a warm Louisiana welcome to her! Please share this announcement with your staffs.

Judi

Judi Terzotis
President and publisher, The Times, The Daily Advertiser, The Daily World

Butterfly | In Louisiana, goal isn't to 'force content'

In a story yesterday, business monthly ABiz in Lafayette, La., offers fresh details about Gannett's Butterfly Project, an initiative that could add a multipage section of USA Today editorial to dozens of the biggest U.S. community newspapers seven days a week.

The project may be optional for some Gannett papers -- in Louisiana, that is, according to David Petty, who until yesterday was interim publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas.

"It’s just a project, but the aim is to enrich the local content, not force content or whatever else — every paper has an option,” Petty told ABiz.

As Lafayette, La., gets a fourth publisher in just six years, can the parachuting Terzotis really respond?

Even by Gannett standards, today's announcement about a new publisher for two Louisiana newspapers really sticks out.

Terzotis

Corporate named Judi Terzotis chief executive for both The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas. Terzotis will also continue as publisher of the troubled Times in Shreveport, La., as well as president of the overall five-paper Gannett Louisiana group -- jobs she got just four months ago.

And as if that wasn't enough, Corporate's press release says she'll continue to "oversee" the Fort Collins Coloraodan, where she was publisher before moving to Shreveport in May.

(At Fort Collins, Terzotis was replaced by business development director Kathy Jack-Romero. Reading between the lines, perhaps Corporate thinks Jack-Romero needs more time getting up to speed. In that case, Terzotis' role there may be short.)

In Shreveport in a story about her newest jobs, The Times was vague about where, exactly, Terzotis will live, saying only: "Terzotis will maintain offices in Lafayette and Shreveport and serve on both editorial boards. She also continues to oversee operations at the Fort Collins Coloradoan."

'A responsive team'
To be sure, Gannett has plenty of publishers who cover more than one site -- in some cases, dozens across multiple states. Just look at the publishers in Phoenix, Nashville, and Rochester, N.Y., who additionally run the three big regional newspaper groups that together encompass all 81 U.S. community dailies.

But in Terzotis' case, a quote attributed to her in today's press release must have left more than a few residents puzzled in Lafayette and Opelousas. "These communities," Terzotis says, "deserve a responsive team of people who can reflect the unique nature of south Louisiana."

Across Gannett markets, locals expect publishers to ride the rubber chicken circuit of Rotary lunches, car dealer promotions and chamber of commerce banquets. Nowhere is that more true than in small southern communities, where residents' legendary charm is leavened by wariness of executives parachuting in from multinational conglomerates based near Washington. I know, having spent six years working in Arkansas before and after Gannett bought the now-defunct Arkansas Gazette.

Lafayette and Opelousas residents pondering the notion of responsiveness will note Shreveport is about 200 miles north of their communities. And Fort Collins is fully 1,100 miles north of Shreveport. They'll note as well Terzotis is their fourth publisher in six years. (And that doesn't even count a fifth publisher who pulled out only a week after Corporate gave him the job. Nor does it include interim publisher David Petty.)

Publishers-a-go-go
Terzotis replaces Karen Lincoln, who was publisher at Lafayette and Opelousas for barely 17 months starting in March 2012. Lincoln, in turn replaced Ali Zoibi, who held the jobs only 14 months starting in December 2010.

Hurst

And Zoibi had replaced Leslie Hurst, after she was promoted in 2010 to publisher of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

Hurst, who ran the two south Louisiana dailies for three years, also knows quite a bit about parachuting from one Gannett community to another. Including Jackson, she's been publisher of seven Gannett papers over the past 17 years.

By the numbers | What's up, Des Moines?

It's been a busy week in the land of Gannett newspaper publishers: Corporate announced new hires in Montgomery, Ala., and St. Cloud, Minn. And it created a vacancy for the publisher's job overseeing papers in Lafayette and Opelousas, La.

Hollingsworth

But 2½ months after Laura Hollingsworth was promoted to a newly expanded position at The Tennessean in Nashville, the top job at The Des Moines Register remains unfilled. That's odd, given the Iowa daily's high profile. There ought to be many publishers at smaller GCI papers clawing their way toward Des Moines.

Some key numbers:

2

days since the publisher's job was vacated at The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette and the Daily World in Opelousas

73

days taken to hire a new publisher at St. Cloud Times

77

days since Des Moines publisher's job was vacated


100 69
days taken to hire a new publisher at the Montgomery Advertiser

Memo: Power outage shuts down La. sites

Yesterday's outage was at the building housing The Times of Shreveport, and affected (I believe) at least four other Louisiana sites. Power was restored after about an hour, according to one of my readers. Here's the memo:

To: All Gannett Louisiana users

DESCRIPTION
The Shreveport building has lost power and the generator the powers the data center during outages failed to start. We have determined that there is a battery issue with the generator and building services is working on it.

Meanwhile, the datacenter containing the editorial and classified systems for the state is now completely down. At this point we don’t have an ETA for when we will have either generator or main power restored.

We will keep everyone informed as we know more about the situation.

EFFECT AT YOUR LOCATION
All systems used by the entire GANLA region are currently not operational while we wait for power to be restored.

SUPPORT
Visit the Gannett Midwest IT Servicedesk home page or contact Gannett Midwest IT Helpdesk @ (XXX-XXX-XXXX) for questions. Use Service Desk Web Self Service to search for knowledge and manage your open support tickets.

Lafayette, La. | New publisher, top editor named

Corporate said in a statement today it had hired a former media consultant as publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Louisiana's Lafayette and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas. Karen Lincoln has been president and owner of Lincoln Media and Consulting Services of Dallas.

Also today, Corporate said it had promoted Karen Lincoln Michel to executive editor of the two papers, from assistant managing editor of the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Wisconsin.

(Note: Yes; they have very similar names.)

Lincoln replaces Ali Zoibi, who retired on March 15. The job originally was going to Richard Roesgen, who is general manager/executive editor of The Reporter and Action Publications in Fond du Lac, Wisc. Citing "personal matters," however, he pulled out just a week after his appointment was announced in late February.

Michel replaces to Brian Tolley, who was earlier named top editor at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

Lincoln Michel is a board member of the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and American Indian Science & Engineering Society Publishing, according to the Advertiser's story about her appointment. She also is a past president of UNITY: Journalists of Color and is a member of the Gannett Leadership and Diversity Council..

Lafayette, La. | Roesgen suddenly out as new pub

Roesgen

Only a week after being named the new publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World in Opelousas, Wisconsin's Richard Roesgen will not assume that job because of unspecified "personal matters," current publisher Ali Zoibi told employees this morning.

It's unclear what role, if any, Rosegen will continue having in his most recent job, as publisher of The Reporter and Action Publications in Fond du Lac, Wisc.

Laura Hollingsworth, president of the Midwest Group, told the Advertiser she hoped Rosegen would stay with the company, but could not say that with certainty. She didn't specify why he was backing out, describing them only as "serious, highly personal issues."

Here's Zoibi's memo to staff:

Dear Colleagues,

I’ve just learned this morning that due to unexpected personal matters Richard Roesgen will not be assuming the role of President and Publisher here in Lafayette and Opelousas.

This is a personal matter I trust we all will respect their privacy. As it happens several other qualified candidates surfaced after Richard was announced last Monday and senior management will be pursuing those discussions.

In the meantime we’ll continue to do what we do best…………..deliver great local news to our community and produce great results for our advertisers.

All the best,

Ali

Lafayette, La. | Roesgen named pub; Zoibi retires

Corporate said in a news release moments ago that Richard Roesgen has been named president and publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World, in nearby Opelousas, effective March 19.

Roesgen

Roesgen formerly was general manager/executive editor of The Reporter and Action Publications in Fond du Lac, Wisc. He succeeds Ali Zoibi, who is retiring after 14 months in the job.

Prior to joining the Reporter and Action in 2009, Roesgen was publisher of Wisconsin's Sheboygan Press from 2000 to 2009; publisher of the Reporter from 1998-2000, and managing editor in 1994-1998 and news editor from 1991-1994.

A search will be launched for Roesgen's successor, according to a memo from Genia Lovett, publisher of The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wisc., and a vice president in the Midwest Group of newspapers.

Roesgen's appointment comes just three days after the top editor over Lafayette and Opelousas, Brian Tolley, was named executive editor of The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss.

By the numbers: circulation

• Lafayette Monday to Saturday: 29,374; Sundays, 42,171. Opelousas: weekdays, 5,669; Sunday, 7,060.
• Fond du Lac: weekday evenings: 10,355; Sunday, 13,853

Jackson, Miss. | Hurst protege named top editor; Tolley's new staff faces possible 20% cut in jobs

To be more precise, Brian Tolley's title will be executive editor/director of audience engagement & growth at the Clarion-Ledger Media Group, according to a story just posted to the Clarion-Ledger's website.

Tolley

Tolley, who fills a post that's been vacant since last summer, is coming from The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., where he worked for Leslie Hurst, now publisher of the Jackson paper.

He will be leading an especially traumatized newsroom, even by Gannett standards. The paper has been without a top editor since Ronnie Agnew left in July to lead Mississippi Public Broadcasting after the GCI-wide mass layoffs of 700 the month before. The managing editor's job also has been vacant.

Agnew

Meanwhile, the newsroom faces the potential loss of both assistant managing editors if they accept recently offered buyouts. Indeed, paper-wide, 12 buyout offers are on the table: one in finance and 11 in the newsroom.

The newsroom now employs 50, according to one of my Jackson readers. So, those 11 potential buyouts could reduce staffing by more than 20% -- unless they're replaced. And even if they are, it's assumed -- as with all similarly-situated papers -- that new hires will be far less experienced.

Good news, bad news
"The good news for sites is you can replace these people,'' one of my California readers told me today. "Bad news is, you have to do so at a much lower salary."

My Jackson reader asks: "Does this look like a company positioning itself to deliver new and unique content that will make readers want to subscribe? . . . I can't believe there's a newsroom at a paper our size in any worse shape than the Clarion-Ledger."

Tolley starts March 12.

Publisher Leslie Hurst told the paper: “Brian has a proven track record as a successful editor, leader and change agent, and will be an excellent addition to our organization as we move forward in this fast-moving, ever-changing media and economic landscape."

Pulitzer Prize-winning Jackson has an especially distinguished history of public-service journalism, including for to the Klan-busting work of investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell.

Tolley was named Lafayette's editor in 2010. He also was the top editor over the Daily World in nearby Opelousas. In its own story on Tolley today, the Advertiser doesn't mention plans for his replacement.

By the numbers: circulation

• Jackson weekdays: 59,166; Sundays, 74,744.
• Lafayette Monday to Saturday: 29,374; Sundays, 42,171. Opelousas: weekdays, 5,669; Sunday, 7,060.

Jackson, Miss. | Leslie Hurst, and a wayward heart

Worried The Clarion-Ledger has lost touch with Jackson, Miss., Publisher Leslie Hurst established 10 strategic goals for her staff. Among them: "Reconnect with our readers, advertisers and our communities, demonstrating that we haven't lost our community heart."

Hurst

Indeed, only last week, Hurst directed her employees -- shaken by a new round of layoffs -- to seek consolation in a re-reading of those goals.

Her admonition to reconnect isn't new, of course. In December, when Corporate promoted her from Lafayette, La., she told the Jackson daily: "We need to know the people we serve and understand what is on their minds."

Yet, Hurst didn't arrive with a reputation for community outreach. "On one of her first days in Lafayette," a former employee there told The Independent Weekly, "she told us that she would not speak to the public, would not answer e-mails, and if called would not pick up the phone. She also will not answer voice mails."

Hurst has passed through a lot of communities. She's been president and publisher of seven Gannett newspapers -- two simultaneously -- in just 14 years. The cities and years she was appointed:

• 1996: Hattiesburg American in Mississippi 
• 2000: The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, W. Va. 
• 2003: The Idaho Statesman, Boise 
• 2005: Lansing State Journal in Michigan 
• 2007: Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, and the Daily World in Opelousas, La. 
• 2010: Jackson

Page One | Majority of fronts carry bin Laden news

[Updated at 5:40 p.m. ET to correct Guam entry.]

Among 64 of Gannett's 82 U.S. newspapers in the Newseum's database today, nine don't have any mention of Osama bin Laden's death on their front pages, when many readers are looking for historic editions.

A half-dozen are on the East Coast, where deadlines were the latest. Some share press sites, which points to the downside of consolidation. And one is a full 14 hours ahead of East Coast time: the Pacific Daily News of Guam. And one is a surprise: the Pacific Daily News of Guam, where deadlines were the latest relative to East Coast time.

It's worth noting that some papers may have uploaded early editions to the Newseum's database; later editions may contain the news. That appears to be the case of The Cincinnati Enquirer, which shows a front page on its website with bin Laden's death, and the Poughkeepsie Journal of New York, which published an extra edition this morning.

The nine papers, and their ABC circulations as of Sept. 30:

• The Daily World in Opelousas, La.: daily: 6,169 Sunday 7,447.
• The Courier News in Morristown, N.J.: daily 18,392; Sunday, 22,134.
• The Daily Record in Parsippany, N.J.: daily, 23,054; Sunday, 25,743.
• The Daily Journal Vineland, N.J.: daily, 13,690; no Sunday edition.
• The Poughkeepsie Journal in New York: daily, 28,249; Sunday, 38,493.
• Asheville Citizen-Times of North Carolina: daily, 34,803: Sunday, 52,117.
• The Cincinnati Enquirer of Ohio: daily, 157,574; Sunday, 255,037.
• The News Leader in Staunton, Va.: daily, 14,510; Sunday, 16,838.
• Pacific Daily News in Guam: circulation unavailable.

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Reno | Publisher Power arrested as DUI suspect

Reno Gazette-Journal Publisher Ted Power was arrested late Friday night in southwest Reno on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, the paper is now reporting. A Washoe County Sheriff’s Office deputy stopped him about 10:10 p.m. on Arrowcreek Parkway and Thomas Creek Road for speeding, the paper says.

Power

Power also was ticketed for speeding. He was booked and released from the Washoe County Jail, according to the paper.

I've contacted the county sheriff's office to get the arrest report, and a copy of Power's booking photo.

Power is about 54 years old. He's been publisher of the newspaper since May 2007. Previously, he was publisher of Louisiana's Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, and the Daily World in Opelousas, a job he got in 2002. Power also was vice president in what was then Gannett's Sun Coast Group, overseeing newspapers in Louisiana, including Shreveport, Monroe and Alexandria, as well as Lafayette and Opelousas.

He started his career in 1979 as a reporter at The Tennessean in Nashville, where he also was a copy editor, sports editor, night editor and general manager of weeklies.

Reno is one of GCI's mid-sized dailies. Its circulation is 42,941 Monday through Friday, and 54,885 on Sunday, according to ABC data as of Sept 30.

Related: Editor who advocated publishing public officials’ DUI arrests resigns after his DUI arrest

Why some publishers can't resist reading this blog

"You know that she keeps coming back to check on the comments. Guaranteed."

-- Anonymous@1:13 p.m. today, adding to a growing string of comments on a long-ago post about the publisher of two Gannett newspapers in Louisiana.

Louisiana | Anyone hear about new editor moves?

There are rumblings that Gannett may have chosen a new top editor to replace the recently departed Denise Richter at The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La. That appointment could be one of two or more top-level editor changes in Louisiana. Anyone else heard this?

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

Lafayette, La. | Top editor Richter said leaving

The top editor of Gannett's Daily Advertiser and Daily World in southern Louisiana is leaving, effective Friday, according to a published report. The Independent Weekly said Denise Richter's resignation was announced Monday by Leslie Hurst, publisher of the two papers. Richter had been with the papers since August 2005, and has been a Gannett employee for 19 years, starting in Salem, Ore., the Independent said.

The Advertiser is in Lafayette, and the Daily World is about 24 miles north, in Opelousas.

Earlier: In a Louisiana tale, what happens when Gannett pulls out

Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.

[Image: today's Advertiser, Newseum]

Hubs | Could Shreveport be the Louisiana hub?

A tipster says a regional page production desk for the five Louisiana newspapers is moving forward, and could be based at The Times of Shreveport. I've asked Publisher Pete Zanmiller for comment.

New feature! Puzzling spotlight on random exec

First in an extremely sporadic, very occasional-at-best series.

Hurst

Leslie Hurst has been president and publisher of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Daily World in nearby Opelousas, since May 2007. At that time, she also became vice president of the Sun Coast Group, supervising papers across Louisiana. Previously, Hurst had been president and publisher of Michigan's Lansing State Journal, and group vice president of the Midwest Newspaper Group.

The Climb

She started in Gannett as head of market development in Florida at the Pensacola News Journal and the Fort Myers News-Press. Then, she was named president and publisher as follows:

• 1996: Hattiesburg American in Mississippi
  
• 2000: The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, W. Va.
  
• 2003: The Idaho Statesman, Boise
  
• 2005: Lansing State Journal
  
• 2007: Lafayette

The Quotes

"Leslie has a proven record in every job she has done for Gannett and I am pleased Louisiana is getting such a terrific manager," newspaper division chief Sue Clark-Johnson is quoted saying (a bit woodenly) in the official statement when Corporate sent Hurst to Lafayette.

"I feel like I'm coming home," Hurst told the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, around that time. "I really love Louisiana culture, and I missed it when I left."

The Clip
The Independent Weekly in Lafayette published a fierce takedown on Jan. 20. In "Chain Reaction,'' the local weekly said, "Corporate newspaper giant Gannett has ransacked The Daily Advertiser, one of its most lucrative newspapers. And every penny of profit squeezed out of the daily has been wired straight to its Virginia headquarters."

Please post what I anticipate may be expressions of bafflement, outrage, and arch remarks in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green rail, upper right.

Poughkeepsie: GCI marketing historic building?

[Journal's headquarters in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.]

As Gannett sells more real estate, a reader told me in an e-mail: "I'm not sure how much of a secret it is at this point, but there are strong and well-circulated rumors the Poughkeepsie Journal is selling its building at 85 Civic Center Plaza. The beautiful and historic stone building will most likely be ditched in favor of cramming staff into a rental space somewhere in the city. . . . I don't think it's on the market yet. In fact, probably not until late spring/early summer. This is not the paper's doing. Truthfully, it's still a strong operation that makes money. But Gannett is pressing in its apparent mission to dissolve the place."

The Colonial Revival-style building features a beautiful wrought-iron archway leading to the main outer entrance, reading, "Here shall the people's rights the press maintain." A marble staircase to the second floor is adorned with images of Ben Franklin and other pioneering journalists painted on the walls.

The nation's third-oldest paper covered Eleanor and President Franklin Roosevelt, whose nearby Hyde Park estate served as a White House annex in 1933-45, the paper's Corporate profile page says. The building's fieldstone was influenced by FDR, "who envisioned a certain architectural style for downtown Poughkeepsie."

Is your newspaper or TV station housed in an historic building? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write gannettblog[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the green sidebar, upper right.

[Image: today's front page, Newseum]

Opelousas: Daily World agrees to sell its building

Adding to a growing number of real property sales across Gannett, the Daily World at Opelousas, La., has agreed to sell its building to private investors. "The closing is expected to take place before the end of March," the newspaper says today. "Daily World staff will continue to occupy the building for several months after the sale."

Publisher Leslie Hurst told her paper: “For some time, we have looked for an opportunity to operate from a space that better meets the needs of our operation as it exists today. We are adjusting our space needs to what is more suitable for the current operation. Technology has enabled staffers to be out in the community more than in the office, and the manufacturing portion of the current building is largely unused."