Monday, February 27, 2012

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

13 comments:

  1. The paper's story:

    http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20120227/NEWS01/120227017/Incoming-publisher-backs-out?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

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  2. Not buying it. Bet he is headed to Louisville to replace Arnold Garson who out at the end of this week.

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  3. Typo in hed. Spelled pubs name wrong. FYI.

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  4. "several other qualified candidates surfaced after Richard was announced"
    That's odd

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  5. 4:06 Thank you; I've now fixed that.

    4:10 I thought that was very odd, too. Where were these candidates before? Was that job opening that poorly advertised?

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  6. A rare misstep in hiring of execs. These do not look good at the top.

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  7. and if this happened anywhere else would they "respect" his family's privacy or would they dig for the story

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  8. Maybe he wasnt a proven leader.

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  9. 8:55 p.m.: No chance. Newspapers as a whole have a double standard when it comes to such issues (layoffs, etc.).

    What an embarrassing situation for everyone involved.

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  10. i bet he didn't want to move at all. so he quit. then he's back? someone needs to look into this story. more then we are being told.

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  11. I briefly worked for Richard. This news sounds kind of fishy to me. I knew him as a "yes man" who would never turn down an assignment from Gannett. I will be watching this one closely.

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  12. I wouldn't necessarily jump to any conclusions. This could be a sudden, private family matter.

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  13. As of this morning they do not have a Publisher, Ad director and Editor

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