API Board of Directors

Chairman Mark G. Contreras
Senior Vice President/Newspapers, E.W. Scripps Co.

Mark Contreras joined The E. W. Scripps Company in January 2005 as vice president, newspaper operations. He became head of the newspaper division at Scripps when he was promoted to senior vice president/newspapers in March, 2006. Mark oversees the day-to-day operations and strategic direction of the Scripps newspaper division, which includes daily and community newspapers in 16 markets, innovative Web-based information services and other related businesses.

Before joining Scripps, Mark was senior vice president at Pulitzer Inc., with oversight responsibilities for Pulitzer Newspapers Inc. and Pulitzer's 50 percent interest in the Tucson Newspaper Agency, as well as leading the company's acquisition team.

Before joining Pulitzer, Mark was president and publisher of The Times Leader in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Prior to that he was in charge of the home-delivery circulation and display advertising at The Kansas City (Mo.) Star. He began his newspaper career as a marketing services manager at The Oakland Press in Pontiac, Michigan, after working as a legislative assistant to U. S. Sen. Paul Simon (D-IL), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He also was a consultant for the Management Analysis Center in Cambridge, Mass.

Mark earned a bachelor's degree in history from The University of Chicago and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He is a graduate of the Advanced Executive Program of The Newspaper Management Center at Northwestern University and was selected by The Aspen Institute as one of 20 Henry Crown Fellows.

In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board of The American Press Institute, Mark serves on the board of the Newspaper Association of America and chairs its Postal Affairs Committee. He is also a board member of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, and a member of the National Association of Minority Media Executives. He is former board chairman of The Cabot Westside Clinic (Kansas City), former trustee and executive committee member of the College Misericordia (Dallas, Pa.), former board member, Pennsylvania Newspaper Publishers' Association (Harrisburg, Pa.), and in 1996 was selected by Presstime magazine as one of its "20 Under 40" roster of industry rising stars.

Vice Chairwoman Donna Barrett
President and Chief Executive Officer, Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.

Donna has been with CNHI since the company's beginning in February 1997. Her previous responsibilities with the company include serving as division manager, group publisher and corporate director of advertising.

Donna is a native Hoosier and began her newspaper career as editor of her college newspaper. Her first full-time job was in advertising at The Evening News in Jeffersonville, Ind.

Before joining CNHI's start-up team, she was a regional advertising consultant for Park Newspapers. She also serves on the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association's board of directors and the Newspaper Association of America Foundation board of directors.

Treasurer Robert J. Weil
Vice President/Operations, The McClatchy Company

Bob oversees McClatchy's newspapers and their subsidiaries in the Northwest, including the News Tribune in Tacoma, Washington, the Anchorage (AK) Daily News and the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Washington. He also has corporate oversight for the Star Tribune, serving the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota.

Bob began his newspaper career as a reporter at several Midwest newspapers before joining Gannett in 1973. He later served as a marketing and advertising executive before being named publisher. Bob's general management experience includes 17 years as publisher with Gannett and Persis Corporation, a family-owned company with newspapers in Hawaii, Washington state and Tennessee.

He was promoted to chief operating officer for Persis Media and later joined McClatchy in 1994 as publisher of The Fresno (CA) Bee before being promoted to his current corporate role in 1997. Bob is a graduate of Indiana University with a major in journalism.

P. Steven Ainsley
Publisher, The Boston Globe

In September 2006 Steven assumed his current position as publisher of The Boston Globe and head of the New England Media Group, which includes The Boston Globe; BostonWorks; GlobeDirect, the Globe's direct mail subsidiary; the Worcester Telegram & Gazette; and the related Web sites of both newspapers. Steven also oversees the company's investment in Metro Boston, a free daily newspaper targeting well-educated young professionals, and the Globe's strategic relationship with New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox and a majority interest in the New England Sports Network.

Steven, 53, was formerly the senior vice president and later president and chief operating officer of the New York Times Regional Media Group, which has won four Pulitzer Prizes. He has been a publisher at various New York Times Company-owned newspapers in Alabama, Florida and Maine since 1982, and from 1993 to 1999 was publisher of the Santa Barbara (Calif.) News-Press.

Steven has been a director of the New England Press Association and the Alabama Press Association, and has served as a director of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association since 2004. He has also served as a director and officer of numerous local civic and charitable organizations in the communities in which he has lived. Steven received a B.A. degree from New York University in 1976 and graduated from the Emory University Advanced Management Program in 1986.

Peter Bhatia
Executive Editor, The Oregonian

Peter joined The Oregonian in Portland as managing editor in 1993 and helped lead the paper's conversion to a team-based newsroom structure. Previously, Peter was executive editor of The Fresno (CA) Bee, managing editor of The Sacramento (CA) Bee, editor of The York (PA) Dispatch and Sunday News, managing editor of the Dallas Times Herald, deputy managing editor of the San Francisco Examiner and a reporter and editor of The Spokesman-Review in Spokane, Washington.

In April 2003, Peter assumed the presidency of the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Previously, he was chair of ASNE's Ethics and and Values Committee, helping to lead its work on newspaper credibility, was program chair for its 1999 convention in San Francisco and co-chair of the ASNE magazine, The American Editor. He served two terms on the board of directors of the Associated Press Managing Editors organization and four times as a Pulitzer juror and has been an editor on six Pulitzer Prize-winning projects.

A native of Pullman, Washington, Peter is a graduate of Stanford University and served on the board of directors of the Stanford Alumni Association. In Portland, he is past chair of the board of directors of the Albertina Kerr Centers for Children and he chairs the board of his son's school.

R. Bruce Bradley
President, Landmark Publishing Group
Publisher, The Virginian-Pilot

Bruce has been president of the Landmark Publishing Group since January 1999. Until June 2000, he also was president and publisher of The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, where he began his newspaper career in 1974 when he answered an advertisement for a sales position. At the Pilot, Bruce also served as general manager and director of advertising. Previously, he held various executive advertising and marketing positions at the Greensboro (NC) News & Record, the Roanoke (VA) Times & World News and the Ledger-Star in Norfolk, Virginia.

Bruce sits on the board of directors of the Newspaper Association of America, as well as on the boards of the United Way of South Hampton Roads, the Virginia Symphony, WHRO Foundation and several other organizations. Bruce holds an M.B.A. from Old Dominion University and a B.S. in business administration from Villanova University. From 1971 to 1974, he was a lieutenant junior grade in the United States Navy.

Phil Currie
Senior Vice President/News, Gannett Company Inc.

Phil is a member of Gannett's Newspaper Operating Committee. He joined the corporate staff as director of news staff development in 1977. He was named vice president/news for community newspapers in 1986, vice president/news for the newspaper division in 1989 and to his current position in May 1995. He chaired the brainstorming group that developed the NEWS 2000 program. Phil began his career in 1964 with the Times-Union in Rochester, New York, where he worked as a general-assignment reporter, editorial writer, political reporter and executive city editor. On the city desk, he directed coverage of the Attica Prison riots that led to a Pulitzer Prize for the newspaper. In his current position, Phil also oversees operations of the Gannett News Service.

Phil holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Iowa and an M.A. in journalism from Penn State University.

Susan S. Davidson
Vice President of Human Resources, Cox Newspapers, Inc.

Susan has been with Cox since 1989. In 1990 she became human resources director for the Austin American-Statesman, overseeing all aspects of human resources for over 1,100 employees. In May 1999 Susan accepted her current position, where she is responsible for the HR needs for over 15,000 employees in 17 daily newspapers and 26 weeklies and shoppers. Two community papers in Texas, The Lufkin Daily News and The Daily Sentinel in Nacogdoches, also currently report to her. Susan's duties encompass scholarships, internships, recruitment, training and development, performance management, retention, succession planning, benefits, compensation, HRIS issues, employee relations, safety and various employment related areas.

In the years prior to her position at Cox Newspapers, Susan was a teacher and self-employed consultant. As an independent consultant, her largest projects were with the American Heart Association (Texas affiliate) and the Austin Civic Orchestra. She has been a member of several industry newspaper committees and boards, and received the Media Human Resources Association (MHRA) Catalyst Award in 2002.

Susan is a native of California and received both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin. She is also certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) by the Society of Human Resources Management.

Susan currently resides in north Fulton County, Atlanta, with her husband Jeff Talmadge, who is an attorney and singer/songwriter. She is the proud mother of a daughter and two sons and enjoys rowing and gardening in her leisure time.

Andrew B. Davis
President and Executive Director, The American Press Institute

Andrew B. Davis took over as President and Executive Director of API in December, 2003. He was previously director of innovation and business development for the Media Management Center at Northwestern University. A brigadier general in the Marine Corps Reserve, Davis took leave from the Media Management Center between July 2001 and July 2003 to serve as director of Marine Corps Public Affairs at the Pentagon in Arlington, Va.. Prior to joining the Media Management Center, Davis was president of Chicago Sun-Times Features, Inc., a division of The Sun-Times Company, and of Performance Media, a custom publishing division he conceived and developed into a multi-million-dollar venture. He also was vice-president of the Sun-Times Company. He holds a bachelor's degree cum laude in English literature from Princeton University and a master's degree with distinction in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School. For 10 years he was group publisher and newspaper operations vice-president of Pioneer Newspapers, a 41-newspaper group based in suburban Chicago. He is married to Margaret Bergan Davis, a consultant to nonprofit organizations for fundraising and strategy. They have two daughters.

Caroline Diamond Harrison
Publisher, Staten Island Advance

Caroline worked as a reporter at the Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance in 1984 and 1985. She joined the New Orleans Times Picayune in November 1986 as an executive trainee, working in all departments of the newspaper. In February 1989, she joined the Patriot-News Company, Harrisburg, Pa, becoming General Manager in September 1990. Caroline returned to the Staten Island Advance in 1999 as General Manager, and in April of 2004 she was named Publisher.

Caroline graduated from Staten Island Academy in 1982 and from Dartmouth College in 1986. She is a member of The Newspaper Association of America and an active member of its Public Policy Committee and Technology Committee. She is on the Board of Directors of the Staten Island Children's Museum, Staten Island Academy, and the Richmond County Savings Bank Foundation.

Arne L. Hoel
President and Chief Executive Officer, Swift Communications, Inc.

Arne L. Hoel has served as president and chief executive officer of Swift Communications, Inc., since 1996. He first started with the company in 1988 as the controller. Prior to joining Swift, he worked as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Whinney for three years and with Peat, Marwick for two years in Sacramento, Calif. Presently, he is a member of the board of directors of Swift Communications, Inc., an acting associate of Vistage, US Bank Advisory Committee, Inland Cost & Revenue Committee and the Reno/Sparks Chamber of Commerce Board, and he coaches youth soccer teams. Hoel holds a B.S. degree from California State University in Sacramento.

Peter A. Horvitz
Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Horvitz Newspapers Inc.

Before taking on his present responsibilities, Peter was president and publisher of the Marin (CA) Independent Journal from 1987 to 1993, and of the Chillicothe (OH) Gazette from 1984 to 1987. From 1983 to 1984, he was marketing manager/advertising at the Courier-News in Bridgewater, New Jersey. From 1978 to 1983, he was assistant general manager and promotion/production manager of The News-Herald in Lake County-Willoughby, Ohio.

Peter has been recognized many times for his professional achievements. In 1991, he was named Newspaper Executive of the Year by the California Press Association. In 1990, he was named Publisher of the Year by Gannett and received Gannett's President's Ring for general excellence among newspaper publishers.

Among other board affiliations, Peter sits on the boards of trustees of the Corporate Council for the Arts, Overlake Hospital Medical Center, Hawken School, The Seattle Foundation and the Endowment Fund of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle. He also is president of the board of trustees of the Pacific Northwest Ballet and a member of the advisory board for the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. Peter holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from the Newhouse School and a master's degree in business administration from New York University.

Gerould W. Kern
Vice President/Editorial, Tribune Publishing Company

Gerry was named vice president/editorial for Tribune Publishing in January 2004. Prior to his appointment, Gerry served as editorial director of the publishing group from 2001 to 2003, directing initiatives aimed at improving journalistic quality while deriving greater value and efficiency from Tribune's scale. As editorial director, Gerry established a network linking the newsrooms of Tribune Publishing's 13 daily newspapers, increasing cooperation and the flow of content between them. The volume of shared Tribune content nearly tripled, becoming the fastest growing source of news in the publishing group. He also directed several companywide publishing initiatives including the personal finance section Your Money, which launched in January 2004. Gerry joined the Chicago Tribune in 1991. He directed the paper's suburban coverage as part of a major regionalization program and was named associate managing editor for metropolitan news in 1993. He was appointed deputy managing editor/features in 1995 and led the development of new sections and several major reporting projects.

During his tenure, the Tribune's features staff won many national journalism awards including the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1999. He became the Tribune's associate editor in 2001. Prior to Tribune, Gerry served as managing editor and then executive editor of The Daily Herald in Arlington Heights, Illinois. He joined the newspaper in 1975. Gerry is a member of the board of directors of the American Press Institute, the American Society of Newspaper Editors Foundation and KRT News Service. Gerry holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Indiana University and has studied at the graduate level at Indiana University and the University of Chicago. Gerry attended API's Executive Editors and Managing Editors seminar (1986).

Caroline H. Little
Chief Executive Officer and Publisher, Washingtonpost Newsweek Interactive; Publisher, washingtonpost.com

Caroline is chief executive officer and publisher of Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive (WPNI), the new media subsidiary of The Washington Post Company. WPNI includes washingtonpost.com and newsweek.com. washingtonpost.com is consistently the number one local news and information site in the country, and one of the top news sites nationally and internationally, with over six million unique users and 200 million page views each month.

Caroline joined WPNI in 1997 as general counsel. She was promoted to vice president, administration and general counsel, in 1998. She became senior vice president of business affairs and general counsel in 1999. She assumed the role of chief operating officer in April 2000, and was named president in April 2003. In January 2004, she became CEO and publisher.

Prior to joining Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, Caroline was deputy general counsel at U.S. News & World Report, The Atlantic Monthly and Fast Company (May 1993 to July 1997). While there, she was active in negotiating agreements with online service providers, licensing, multimedia syndication agreements and other areas involving circulation and marketing of the magazines. When Caroline worked at Applied Graphics Technologies and Applied Printing Technologies, she drafted and negotiated various financing and licensing agreements, joint venture agreements, software license agreements, production services agreements, asset purchase agreements, and other agreements for pre-press and printing companies.

A graduate of Wesleyan University, Caroline received a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1981 and received her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1986 where she graduated with honors. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa.

Caroline is an active member of both professional organizations and the charitable community in Washington. Little also serves as an Advisory Board member for The Posse Foundation, and is a Board member for the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the charitable group WEAVE (Women Empowered Against Violence). In addition, she is a trustee to Grinnell College in Iowa. She is also a member of the Young Presidents' Organization.

Joseph Lodovic
President, MediaNews Group, Inc.

Jody is President of MediaNews Group, Inc. MediaNews Group and its affiliates publish 46 daily newspapers in ten states with daily and Sunday circulation of approximately 1.8 and 2.3 million, respectively. In addition, MediaNews owns one television station, a CBS affiliate, located in Anchorage, Alaska, and 3 radio stations. MediaNews also operates a new media division, which hosts websites for all of MediaNews' media properties and invests in internet technologies which support its interactive media strategies.

Jody began his career in public accounting with Ernst & Young, joining MediaNews Group in 1986. He became Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1993 and was named President on February 1, 2001. He serves as 1 of 4 members of the management board of the Denver Newspaper Agency, a newspaper JOA in Denver, CO, and the Newspaper Agency Corp., a newspaper JOA in Salt Lake City, UT. He also serves on the board of the Newspaper Association of America. Jody is also a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants and the Texas Society of CPAs. In addition, he currently serves or has served on various committees of some of the above organizations. Jody also participates or has participated on boards and committees of various community organizations.

David Lord
President, Pioneer Newspapers, Inc.

David Lord is the president of Pioneer Newspapers, Inc., headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Pioneer is the owner of seven daily newspapers and six weekly newspapers in the western United States.

Mr. Lord was raised in Ohio, and he obtained a degree in history from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1971. After graduating from Capital University College of Law, he moved to Seattle and became a criminal deputy prosecuting attorney for King County, Washington. In 1981, he joined the Seattle law firm of Ferguson and Burdell, specializing in business litigation. In 1991, Mr. Lord became president of Pioneer Newspapers, Inc.

Mr. Lord is past president and currently chairman of the Inland Press Association, and he is now serving on the following industry boards of directors: the PAGE Co-op; the Associated Press; the Newspaper Association of America; and the Job Network LLC. Mr. Lord is also a member of the board of directors of Redhook Brewery, Inc., a publicly traded company.

Mr. Lord and his wife Deborah have been married twenty-nine years, and they have two children. He and his wife are active in several community and civic organizations.

Jagoda S. Pike
Publisher, Toronto Star; President, Star Media Group

Jagoda was appointed publisher of the Toronto Star in October of 2006 - the first woman to hold that position at Canada's largest daily newspaper.

She has worked with Torstar Corporation for 20 years, assuming increasingly senior roles in Torstar's newspaper businesses. She has served as general manager of the Toronto Star, publisher of The Hamilton Spectator, president of CityMedia Group and executive vice president, newspapers for Torstar. During her tenure as publisher, The Spectator earned an international reputation as a leader in innovation and cultural change. In 2005, The Spectator was designated a 'Learning Newsroom' by the American Society of Newspaper Editors and the American Press Institute - the only Canadian newspaper to receive such a designation.

In addition to serving as the Star's publisher, Jagoda is president of Star Media Group which includes the Toronto Star, Torstar's interests in Metro and Sing Tao Daily, Eye Weekly, Toronto Real Estate News, TMG TV, Torstar Syndicate Services and Corporate Information Technology. She sits on the Board of Directors of Canadian Press and is a past chairwoman of the Canadian Newspapers Association.

Jagoda was educated at the University of Toronto, where she studied economics, and later at Osgoode Hall Law School, from which she received a Bachelor of Laws Degree in 1984. She was called to the Ontario Bar in 1986.

Charles V. Pittman
Senior Vice President/Newspapers, Schurz Communications

Charles joined Schurz Communications in August 2002. Prior to that, he was Lee Enterprises' corporate vice president for newspapers and publisher of its flagship newspaper, the Quad-City Times in Davenport, Iowa. Before joining Lee Enterprises in 1996 as publisher of the Herald & Review in Decatur, Illinois, he worked at The Charlotte (NC) Observer, first in the production division and later as new media advertising manager and general executive of Knight Ridder's Corporate Executive Training Program. He worked seven years as classified advertising manager for the Times Publishing Company in Erie, Pennsylvania, and three years as marketing and promotion director.

After graduating in 1970 from Pennsylvania State University, where he was a football and academic All-American, Charles played professional football for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Baltimore Colts. He holds an M.B.A. from Gannon University in Erie.

María Eugenia Ferré Rangel
President and Chief Executive Officer, El Nuevo Día

María is one of the youngest executives to lead a major circulation newspaper in the United States. The 34-year-old El Nuevo Día is Puerto Rico's largest daily with a circulation of 210,000 papers daily and 250,000 on Sundays. As the largest Spanish language daily in the United States, El Nuevo Día is 100 percent Hispanic owned and operated. It commands a leading share of the Puerto Rico advertising market and belongs to the Ferré Rangel Group of companies.

María brought innovation and change throughout the company preparing the newspaper and its 965 employees for the increasingly competitive media market of the 21th century. She managed the transformation of the paper by using technology to modernize the operational processes in the production and circulation departments. Under her leadership the company has invested over $50M in a new printing press and supporting equipment to guarantee early home delivery of the paper to the existing subscribers and further expand the service throughout the island. María has effectively reduced costs while being able to expand the advertising sales share of one of the largest and most competitive media markets in the hemisphere.

María serves in the board of directors of the Ponce Museum of Arts, Pro Arte Musical, Cosecha de Puerto Rico and other not-for profit organizations. Previous to her appointment as president and CEO, she worked as vice president of administration and operations, assistant vice president of sales and marketing, and as director of community and corporate relations. With more than 11 years of working experience at El Nuevo Día in different capacities, Mariía learned the intricacies of the publishing business. María is married with two children. She obtained a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish, and graduated from Holy Cross College. She completed a Master Degree in Communications at Boston University. María attended API's Advertising Executives seminar (1992).

Rex Rust
Co-President, Rust Communications

Rex is co-president of Rust Communications, a second-generation media company that owns 18 daily and 31 weekly community newspapers throughout eight midwestern states. In addition, Rust Communications has a minority ownership in 17 radio stations in Missouri and Illinois. Rex focuses on the company's corporate finance, acquisition strategy, shareholder relations and corporate governance. Prior to returning to the family business in 2000, Rex worked for two years in the mergers and acquisitions department of Smith Barney in New York; three years with the private equity firm Code, Hennessy & Simmons in Chicago; and three years with the private equity firm Colonnade Capital in Richmond, Va.

Rex graduated from Harvard University with honors in 1992 with a degree in economics. His studies included a semester abroad at the London School of Economics and three months of travel throughout Eastern and Western Europe.

Rex holds leadership positions in several local civic organizations in Cape Girardeau, Mo., including chairman-elect of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce and current president of the Southeast Missouri State University Athletic Booster Board. In addition, Rex is a board member of the Division of Youth Services for the State of Missouri, the St. Louis Children's Hospital Development Board, and the Inland Press Association. Rex is also active in the St. Louis chapter of the Young Presidents Organization.

Rex lives in Cape Girardeau with his wife Sherry and is a member of LaCroix United Methodist Church. He is a private pilot and avid sports enthusiast.

Greg Schermer
Vice President of Interactive Media, Lee Enterprises

Greg Schermer joined Lee in 1989 and has led Lee's online expansion since 1998. He became a member of Lee's board of directors in 2000 and also served as corporate counsel from 1989 to 2006. Before joining Lee and returning to Davenport, he was a partner at the law firm of Hanson, O'Brien, Birney and Butler in Washington, D.C. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts and a juris doctorate degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1980. He serves on the boards of directors of CityXpress, the NAA Horizon Watch Committee, and the Associated Press Digital Committee. Among his community activities in Davenport, he is president of the RiverCenter for the Performing Arts, Inc., overseeing the Adler Theatre, and president of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra.

Jonathan Segal
President, Freedom Newspapers

Jonathan has been senior vice president of Freedom Communications Inc. and president of its Community Newspapers Division since 1999. Prior to assuming his current positions, he served as senior vice president and president of the Eastern Community Newspapers Division for eight years. Before joining the corporate staff, Jonathan served as senior publisher of Freedom's North Carolina newspapers and publisher of The Gaston (NC) Gazette for 10 years. He also was editor of The Free Press in Kinston, North Carolina, and worked in various circulation, advertising and editorial positions at The Brownsville (TX) Herald and The Gaston Gazette.

He is past president of the North Carolina Press Association and president-elect of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. Mr. Segal has 32 years of experience in the newspaper industry and graduated from the University of Texas with an honors degree in journalism.

Thomas A. Silvestri
President and Publisher, Richmond Times-Dispatch

In January 2005 Tom became president and publisher of The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Media General's second largest newspaper. Prior to that, since January 2002 he had been president of Media General's community newspapers, responsible for 20 daily newspapers, more than 25 weeklies in five Southeastern states, and Media General's statewide business magazine, Virginia Business.

Tom became a vice president of Media General in September 2000 and a senior vice president in April 2001 after serving for 2½ years as director of news synergy and Newsbank editor at the Richmond-based company.

A journalist for more than 25 years, Tom is a former deputy managing editor of the Richmond Times-Dispatch, where he helped create three news departments and several stand-alone sections, and launched a training program that attracted national attention for its breadth and reality-based approach.

Before joining The Times-Dispatch, Tom was a reporter and editor for the Gannett Westchester (N.Y.) Newspapers. He is an advisor to the Virginia Press Association where he helped create the Virginia Writers' Workshop. He is a past president of the Virginia chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He has a master's degree in business administration from Virginia Commonwealth University where he is past president of the Business School's alumni board, and a bachelor of arts in literature and communications (minor in accounting) from Pace University in New York, where he was the editor of the student newspaper, new morning.

Tom has been a discussion leader at more than 30 API seminars. He has attended two: Business and Economic Coverage (1990) and Strategic Leadership (2006).

Steven Swartz
Executive Vice President, Hearst Newspapers

Steven Swartz has been executive vice president of Hearst Newspapers since 2001. He began his career with The Wall Street Journal in 1984, serving as a reporter in Philadelphia and in New York and as a page-one editor. In 1991, he was founding editor of SmartMoney Magazine, a joint venture of Hearst and Dow Jones & Co. and he went on to become the magazine's chief executive. Under his leadership, SmartMoney was named Magazine of the Year by Advertising Age, and the magazine and its website, SmartMoney.com, won a total of three National Magazine Awards.

Swartz is a graduate of Harvard College. He lives in Manhattan with his wife Tina, and his sons, James and Michael.

John N. Wilcox
Chairman and CEO, Ottaway Newspapers

John N. Wilcox is chairman and CEO of Ottaway Newspapers, senior vice president of Dow Jones and president of Dow Jones Community Media Group. As CEO of Ottaway he works with executives at the company headquarters in Campbell Hall, New York, and ONI publishers to develop strategies, tactics, policies and procedures. In 2003, he became the seventh President of Ottaway since the company was founded in 1936.

He serves on the Board of Directors of Inland Press Association and on the American Press Institute's N² (Newspaper Next) taskforce. He is a graduate of Minnesota State University with degrees in political science and business administration and a minor in journalism. He completed the Advanced Executive Program at Northwestern University. John's family has been in the newspaper profession for 112 years, with his grandfather, father and elder brother having been publishers and his mother a newspaper columnist.

He began his career as Editor of the Lakeville Times, a weekly newspaper in Minnesota. In 1970 he joined the advertising staff at the Free Press in Mankato, which became part of Ottaway Newspapers in 1979; he eventually wore two hats there as Circulation and Marketing Director. In 1980 he was appointed General Manager of the daily People's Press in Owatonna, Minnesota, and was later named Publisher. In 1983 he moved to Danbury, Connecticut, as General Manager of the News-Times. It was back Westward in 1988 for an eight-year period as Publisher of the Globe in Joplin, Missouri. Then to the East coast once again in 1996 to serve as President and Publisher of the Cape Cod Times in Massachusetts. In 2002 he moved to the Ottaway corporate offices as Executive Vice President.

John and his wife Patricia have four children and five grandchildren, living in California, Missouri and New York. John and Pat maintain residences in Washingtonville, New York and on Cape Cod, Massachusetts and enjoy kayaking, as well as running and walking together each day.