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For immediate release
4/21/97

Mark Mikolajczyk Named vice President/Production, Newspaper Division

ARLINGTON, Va. — Mark Mikolajczyk has been named vice president/production in Gannett’s Newspaper Division, it was announced Monday.

He succeeds Donn L. Wheeler, who is retiring. Wheeler and his wife Alice were honored Monday evening at a dinner of production executives from Gannett newspapers.

“Mark is stepping into some very large shoes,” said Gary L. Watson, president of the Newspaper Division. “But he’s clearly up to the challenge and has prepared himself to lead our production and manufacturing efforts into the next century.”

Mikolajczyk, 36, served as vice president/production at The Cincinnati Enquirer from 1989 through last November, when he joined the Newspaper Division staff as director/production. Since joining Gannett in 1982, he also has served in production management roles at USA TODAY and as production director at the Times Herald in Port Huron, Mich.

He is a graduate of the Rochester (N.Y.) Institute of Technology.

“Donn Wheeler is fond of saying, ‘If you can’t play with the big dogs, stay on the porch.’ Well, he truly is one of the Big Dogs of our industry,” Watson said. “He has helped make each and every one of our newspapers better.”

Wheeler had served as vice president/production since 1988.

Upon his retirement, he concluded a 38-year career with Gannett. He joined the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal in 1959 in the composing room. He later served in a variety of positions, including production director.

He also was production coordinator for the Gannett West Newspaper Group and vice president/production for the Gannett Suburban Newspapers in White Plains, N.Y., before joining the Newspaper Division as director/production operations in 1985.

Gannett is a nationwide news and information company that publishes 91 daily newspapers, including USA TODAY, and USA WEEKEND, a newspaper magazine. Gannett also operates 16 television stations, five radio stations, cable television systems in five states and alarm security services.