Arnold Garson named Courier-Journal publisher

Longtime newspaper editor and executive Arnold Garson, who helped lead The Des Moines Register to two Pulitzer Prizes in the 1980s, has been named president and publisher of The Courier-Journal.

Garson, 67, comes to Louisville from Sioux Falls, S.D., where he was president and publisher of the Argus Leader.

He replaces Denise Ivey, who last June announced she would leave The Courier-Journal by year’s end. Ivey, who became The Courier-Journal’s publisher in 2006, will remain the chairman of the newspaper through the end of the year.

Addressing the newsroom staff in Louisville Aug. 7, Garson acknowledged that American newspapers are undergoing difficult financial times and that changes inevitably will continue to occur at The Courier-Journal.

But he pledged that the newspaper and its Web site “will continue to be the primary provider of local and regional news and information in this community.” And he said he is “extremely bullish” about the future of newspapers.

Originally from Nebraska, Garson began his newspaper career as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald.

Before coming to the Argus Leader in 1996, he served as editor of the San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sun and as managing editor of The Des Moines Register.

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Barren County native Amber Dilley is the newest member of the Glasgow Daily Times’ newsroom.

Dilley is a graduate of the University of New Mexico with a degree in journalism.

While studying at UNM, Dilley worked for the student newspaper.

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Ben Sheroan has been named general manager of The LaRue County Herald News in Hodgenville and The Record in Leitchfield. Both weeklies are owned by Landmark Community Newspapers Inc.

Sheroan began his career in 1974 while still in high school, working as a part-time sports writer with The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown.

He served in various newsroom roles, including assistant editor through 1990 when he became city editor for The Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro. He later served as editor of a morning daily in West Virginia and publisher of daily and weekly newspapers in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

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The Times Leader is one of two Kentucky newspapers winning an award in the National Newspaper Association’s Better Newspaper Contest.

Publisher Chip Hutcheson will be presnted a third-place award for best sports feature story or series, non-daily division, at the association’s annual convention this fall in St. Paul, Minn.

The winning entry was titled “Field of Dreams” and was published July, 2007 chronicling the history of youth baseball in Princeton.

The other winner for Kentucky was a third place for best editorial by Ryan Craig at The Todd County Standard.

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Keith W. Ponder, former publisher at the Glasgow Daily Times, will again lead the southcentral Kentucky newspaper.

Ponder, a vice president and division manager for Birmingham, Ala.-based Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., had served as publisher in Glasgow from 1998 to 2004 when he was promoted to a division corporate assignment while stifi based in Glasgow.

Pete Mio, who spent more than two years as publisher at the Glasgow paper, has been promoted to CNHI’s Tonawanda, N.Y, newspaper.

During Ponder’s previous tenure as publisher, he helped the paper reach record-high circulation levels, led the conversion to a new Web site and helped establish CNHI’s Kentucky news bureau.

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Bell County native Brandy Murray Calvert describes her promotion to managing editor of the Middlesboro Daily News as a dream come true.

Calvert came on board with the newspaper two years ago as a part-time staff writer.

Within a few months, she moved into a full-time position and in the fall of 2007, she became senior staff writer.

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Portia Oldham has been named circulation director for The News-Enterprise in Elizabethtown.

Oldham’s employment with Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. spans 27 years.

During her career, she served in numerous advertising sales leadership roles including key account executive, nationals/healthcare team leader, automotive team leader, advertising marketing and sales support team leader, and retail advertising manager.

In 2007, Oldham transitioned to circulation where she has served as circulation marketing and sales manager.

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Jamie Sizemore has been named publisher of The Kentucky Standard in Bardstown.

A Landmark Community Newspapers Inc. veteran of more than 23 years, Sizemore joined LCNI following her graduation from Western Kentucky University in 1985.

In 2006, Sizemore was named the Newspaper Association of America’s “Circulation Sales Executive of the Year” among member newspapers with paid circulation of 150,000 and less. That same year, the staff of The College Heights Herald, Western Kentucky University’s award-winning student newspaper, honored Sizemore as the recipient of its annual “Herald Award” for outstanding contributions to the field of journalism.

Sizemore has also provided dedicated service to the Kentucky Press Association, currently serving the association as its circulation division chairperson.

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Slone Cansler has been named as the new publisher of the News-Democrat & Leader in Russellville by Michael Bush, president and CEO of Heartland Publications.

Cansler replaces Randy Fuqua who moved to North Carolina.

Cansler holds a master’s degree from Murray State University and has 12 years of experience in the newspaper industry including stints as managing editor of the McLean County News and advertising manager of the Murray Ledger & Times.

She began her career as a reporter with The Messenger in Madisonville.

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Shannon Dennis has been named the new advertising representative at The Record in Leitchfield.

Dennis has advertising experience through the Kentucky Classified Network in Elizabethtown.

Dennis spent eight years in the restaurant business before spending the last 18 months at Kentucky Classified Network.

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The Lexington Herald-Leader’s Kentucky.com cracked the top 30 newspaper Web sites in the United States in July, according to data from Nielson Online.

Kentucky.com had 1.5 million unique users for July, placing it above the Boston Herald, the Detroit News and the Oregonian in Portland, Ore.

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Kathy Lynch has joined the staff of the Spencer Magnet in Taylorsville.

Lynch began working at the paper on a temporary basis to help during the transitional period after John Shindlebower’s resignation. She has agreed to join the staff on a full-time basis.

Lynch started her journalism career at the University of Louisville newspaper - The Louisville Cardinal where she is still an active member as chief copy editor.

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A Lexington Herald-Leader Newspaper in Education project has won the grand prize from the World Association of Newspapers.

The paper’s literacy project, “Mr. Dogwood Goes to Washington,” was sponsored by LG&E Energy, Kentucky Utilities and the Kentucky Press Association.

The prize honors the newspaper that devised the year’s most innovative project to develop young readership.

The World Association of Newspapers is a non-profit, non-governmental organization representing more than 18,000 publications in 102 nations on five continents.