Gannett Honors Top Employees, Unsung Heroes
MCLEAN, VA – Tim Dietz, vice president/interactive services, KUSA/KTVD, Denver, today was named Gannett’s Innovator of the Year during the company’s annual Employee Awards ceremony here today.
Dietz won for leading the company’s efforts to devise a high school sports content solution with national scope and local roots. This is the second year for the Innovator of the Year award. Other Finalists for Innovator of the Year were Carol Horton, marketing manager, The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, Calif.; and Matt Jones, director/mobile strategy and operations, Gannett Digital.
Arnold Garson, Pacific Group vice president and president and publisher of the Argus Leader at Sioux Falls, SD, was named Gannett’s 24th Manager of the Year. Gannett’s Manager of the Year award honors top leaders at the company for their management skills, leadership, innovation and business ability. Other finalists for Manager of the Year were: Larry Audas, president and general manager of KTHV-TV in Little Rock, Ark.; and Vincent Boni, managing director-West, Newsquest.
Other awards announced at the reception:
* Sales Executive of the Year is Steve Abramowitz, account executive, USA TODAY, New York. Finalists: Tina Hamilton-Easter, sales account executive, WUSA-TV, Washington, D.C.; and Nicky Strong, senior sales executive, Newsquest, South London.
* Corporate Staffer of the Year is Austin Ryan, vice president/production, U.S. Community Publishing. Finalists: Rob Mennie, vice president/senior news executive, Gannett Broadcasting; and Kelly Provant, director of financial analysis, U.S. Community Publishing.
* Leadership and Diversity Award went to KPNX-TV, Phoenix. Finalists: KUSA/KTVD-TV at Denver; Pacific Daily News at Hagatna, Guam; The Arizona Republic at Phoenix; Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal; and Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle.
* Leadership and Diversity Individual Award winners were Randell Beck, executive editor and director/content and audience development, Argus Leader at Sioux Falls, S.D.; Karen Magnuson, vice president/news and editor, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle; Ricardo Rodriguez, news assistant, The News Journal at Wilmington, Del.
Also honored at the reception were winners of the Gannett 21st annual Unsung Heroes Awards. They are:
* Roy Ghee, distribution manager/operations, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS.
* Emily Hanson, manager/travel services, Gannett, McLean, VA.
* Don Heus, engineering maintenance supervisor, KSDK-TV, St. Louis.
* Zach Morgan, senior analyst, Gannett Digital, McLean, VA.
* Leroy Munger, senior district sales manager, USA TODAY Circulation, St. Louis.
* Dick Thompson, distribution manager, Argus Leader, Sioux Falls, SD.
* Nhia Yang, multimedia desk manager/Information Center, The Sheboygan (WI) Press.
* Brooke Zapata, executive assistant to the publisher, The Desert Sun, Palm Springs, CA
“These winners of our employee awards demonstrate their amazing talent, loyalty and ingenuity everyday. We deeply value their commitment to excellence and their development of best practices and innovative strategies,” said Gannett Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Craig Dubow. “We are honored to have such wonderful employees on board.”
Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 900 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes nearly 300 titles, including 17 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
For media inquiries, contact:
Tara Connell
Vice President of Corporate Communications
703-854-6049
tjconnel@gannett.com