Kentucky publisher, Hutcheson, named NNA president
Nov 2, 2015
ST. CHARLES, MO—Chip Hutcheson, publisher of The Princeton (KY) Times Leader, was elected president of the National Newspaper Association during the association’s 129th annual convention and trade show Oct. 3, 2015. He had been vice president.
Hutcheson succeeded John Edgecombe Jr., publisher of the Nebraska Signal in Geneva, NE, who became immediate past president.
Elected vice president was Matt Paxton, publisher of the News-Gazette in Lexington, VA. He had been treasurer.
Susan Rowell, publisher/regional manager, The Lancaster News/Carolina Gateway, Lancaster, SC, was named treasurer. She had been Region 3 director.
The NNA board voted to change which states are covered by the various regions earlier in the year, trimming the number of regional directors from 11 to 10.
“I remember when I was in the Army Reserve and the division commander, Gen. Lindsay Freeman, would always start a briefing with soldiers by saying ‘It’s a great day to be a soldier in the United States Army.’ Well, it’s also a great day to be in community newspaper business,” Hutcheson said to those in attendance. “Yes, a changing day. Yes, a challenging day. But the future of community newspapers is bright, and this is a time when we face our challenges and remain strong to our commitment to be the voice in our community. We are community builders.
“This will be a year of transition for NNA as we move to a new management company, but our public policy work will remain in the capable hands of Tonda Rush. We’ll continue the valiant fight to see improvement in the way our newspapers are delivered, we will oppose any efforts to impose an advertising tax, we will continue to fight the good fight for public notices to be in newspapers, and we will insist that open government is the best government.
“NNA’s mission does not change—this association will work tirelessly on issues which are vital for our well being. It is time for us to rally the troops—to enlist as many newspapers as we can—to join our efforts to keep newspapers strong across this nation.
Appointed as directors were Michael Fishman, publisher of the Citizen Tribune in Morristown, TN, for Region 2; Keith Rathbun, publisher of The Budget in Sugarcreek, OH, for Region 4. Elected to the board were Matt Adelman, publisher of the Douglas Budget/Glenrock Independent in Douglas, WY, as Region 9 director; and Kara Cooper, co-publisher of Casa Grande Valley Newspapers Inc. in Casa Grande, AZ, as Region 10 director.
Continuing on the board are Pat Desmond, publisher of the Milton (MA) Times, as Region 1 director; Andrew Johnson, Dodge County Pionier in Mayville, WI, as Region 5 director; David Fisher, president and publisher of Fisher Publishing in Danville, AR, as Region 7 director; Tom Mullen with the Philipsburg (MT) Mail as Region 8 director.
Also continuing on the board are Bradley Thompson, publisher of the Detroit Legal News, Detroit, MI, representing American Court and Commercial Newspapers; and David Bordewyk, executive director for the South Dakota Newspaper Association, representing the Newspaper Association Managers.
Named to the board as at-large directors were Elizabeth Parker, executive editor/co-publisher of New Jersey Hills Media Group in Bernardsville, NJ; and Jim Lawitz, vice president-editorial for Civitas Media LLC in Davidson, NC. NNA Postal Chair Max Heath remains as an honorary member of the board.
Region 3 and Region 6 directorships are currently vacant.