DeLuca Named Tampa Publisher at 'St. Pete Times'

By: E&P Staff Joe DeLuca has been appointed Tampa publisher of the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times.

DeLuca came to the Times in 2001 as director of operations after working as production director at The Hartford (Conn.) Courant. In his new position, he supervises business operations for the paper in Tampa.

"It is not just his broad technical expertise or deep business knowledge that bring us to this important assignment for Joe," Marty Petty, publisher and executive vice president of the Times, said in a statement. "It's his connection to people. Joe invests in people, coaching and developing staff, and building diverse teams. And he gets the hard work done with class, humor, and no fanfare."

Ben Hayes, a 29-year Times veteran, succeeds DeLuca as director of operations. Also in operations, Alvin Nesmith, who came to the Times from the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News in 2003, has been promoted to production manager.