Monday, March 19, 2012

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..

12 comments:

  1. from 2004:

    DALLAS, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Comcast has promoted Karen J. Lincoln to
    Vice President and General Manager of Comcast Spotlight for the Dallas/Ft.
    Worth market. Ms. Lincoln will lead the DFW advertising sales division of
    Comcast Cable and provide advanced marketing solutions for local, regional and
    national advertisers.
    Lincoln has over 25 years of experience in the advertising sales industry,
    with a depth of knowledge in strategic branding, tactical geographic and
    demographic advertising and traffic operations management. Most recently, she
    served as Director of Regional and National Sales for Comcast Spotlight in
    Dallas.
    She began her career at WFAA-TV in Dallas and also served as Vice
    President, Regional Group Director of Sales for MMT Sales in Los Angeles, New
    York, Dallas and Chicago. Lincoln has also served as Vice President of
    National Sales for New World Sales and Marketing/Fox Television and was Senior
    Vice President of PAX Television National and Network Sales.
    Prior to joining Comcast, Lincoln served as Chief Operating Officer of the
    Hispanic Television Network and operated as President of Lincoln Media and
    Consulting Services.
    Active in the community, Lincoln is a member of the National Academy of
    Television Arts and Sciences, a member of American Women Radio and Television
    and served on the 2004 programming committee, an advisory Board Member and co-
    chairperson Corporate Contributions Committee to Make A Wish Foundation of
    Metro New York and founder of the Adam Walsh Bowling Benefit.
    "We are very pleased to promote Karen to Vice President in Dallas/Ft.
    Worth," said Mark Winkler, Comcast Spotlight's Vice President for the
    Southwest Region. "Her remarkable understanding of advertising, rich
    experience in sales and wealth of knowledge of the industry will be vital
    assets to the team we are building in the DFW Market."
    "I'm very excited and proud to lead the Dallas/Ft. Worth Comcast Spotlight
    team," Lincoln said. "We have over 55 dedicated sales and account
    representatives who are committed to connecting advertisers with cable's
    growing audience and providing measurable results."

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  2. Certainly has the experience to be a newspaper publisher... but why would she go to Lafayette? Maybe she is from there...

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  4. Since it doesn't say so in the Advertiser's story on the hire, I doubt she is from Lafayette area. The Advertiser is often criticized for sparse representation of local people on the content oriented staff (as they try to sell themselves as a locally oriented paper), so would probably emphasize this if she were from the area.

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  7. I'm guessing she didn't choose to go to Louisiana, just like the guy from Fond du Lac that decided he didn't want to go, and didn't. But it's the Gannett way to uproot editors and publishers and make them move to a new location, isn't it?

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  8. Thanks Jim for giving me nightmares! All I have to do is read Ali Zoibi's name and I head for cover. I worked for him at The Indianapolis Star. I think he hired all of his nephews and nieces while working there. Nepotism at a family owned newspaper is one thing, but I was totally surprised by his hiring practices. Most of his relations had no newspaper experience and they were given managerial positions. Zoibi was on the front line of running the newspaper into the ground.

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  9. Nobody accepts a position and then realizes oh, wait, it's in Louisiana, fuggedabouddit. The Fond du Lac guy had personal issues come up after the announcement according to the story that ran then.

    People know what they are looking at well before they decide to go to Louisiana. State motto: At least we're not Mississippi.

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  10. 2:58 p.m., here in Lafayette, Ali Z. was sent from heaven compared to what we dealt with in his predecessor.

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  11. Continue to hear there is an ad director opening in Lafayette and have been unable to confirm. Anyone in GB land have any details?

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  12. Ad Director open? You can just about have any position you want on our OC. We have almost, if not all, had a complete turnover in our entire OC team in only a few months. Too bad that didn't happen in Shreveport as well.

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