Curtis Riddle to Retire from Gannett’s U.S. Community Publishing; Howard Griffin Named President and Publisher of the News Journal in Wilmington, DE
McLEAN, VA – Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) announced today that Curtis Riddle, president and publisher of The News Journal in Wilmington, DE, and senior group president of the East Newspaper Group since 1994, is retiring. Howard L. Griffin, vice president of national advertising for Philadelphia Media Network, Inc., the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and philly.com, has been named president and publisher of The News Journal in Wilmington, DE.
“We offer Curtis our heartfelt thanks and wish him well with his future endeavors. We will sorely miss his able leadership, careful guidance and rich experience. He has served as an inspiration to others and we deeply appreciate the many contributions he has made over the years to the community newspapers, USA TODAY and to Gannett,” said Robert Dickey, president of U.S. Community Publishing.
Riddle assumed responsibility for the Atlantic Group, (which was incorporated into the East Group), which includes the Gannett community newspapers in New Jersey and New England, in 2007. Before joining The News Journal, Riddle was a regional president and president and publisher of the Lansing (MI) State Journal; a regional vice president and president and publisher of the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, IN; and special assistant to the publisher at The Cincinnati Enquirer. He also has been managing editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer; a deputy managing editor and founder at USA TODAY; and a reporter at the Baltimore Sun and The Courier-Journal in Louisville, KY. Riddle joined Gannett in 1982.
“Howard is an experienced advertising executive with a solid track record of building sales and competitive market share. He will be an important member of our team as Gannett continues to expand the ways we provide business clients with customized solutions and engage consumers,” said Dickey.
Prior to joining Philadelphia Newspapers, Inc. in 2003 as vice president of display advertising, Griffin held executive advertising and marketing positions with such media organizations as the Journal Register Company in Trenton, NJ; Hawaii Newspaper Agency (JOA); Chicago Sun-Times; and The Orange County (CA) Register.
Griffin has served as a member of dozens of professional, community service and industry organizations. He attended Wichita State University in Kansas and Victor Valley College in Victorville, CA. He obtained a Master of Business Administration degree from Pepperdine University in California.
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an international news and information company operating on multiple platforms including the Internet, mobile, newspapers, magazines and TV stations. Gannett is an Internet leader with hundreds of newspaper and TV web sites; CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s top employment site; USATODAY.com; and more than 80 local MomsLikeMe.com sites. Gannett publishes 82 daily U.S. newspapers, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper, and more than 600 magazines and other non-dailies including USA WEEKEND. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in 19 U.S. markets. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is one of the UK’s leading regional community news providers, with 17 daily paid-for titles, more than 200 weekly newspapers, magazines and trade publications, and a network of web sites.
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