A long-time newspaper executive will soon return to Pennsylvania from North Dakota to become regional group vice president overseeing the Kittanning Times Leader, the Connellsville Daily Courier, the Latrobe Bulletin and their associated publications in southwestern Pennsylvania. All are part of the Sample News Group family of newspapers.
Gary Adkisson will be based in Kittanning and is in the process of relocating from Bismarck, North Dakota, where he was most recently publisher of the Bismarck Tribune. The announcement was made this week by George (Scoop) Sample, CEO of Sample News Group.
Among other regional duties, Sample said Adkisson will be hands-on with the company’s weekly newspapers in Mt. Pleasant and Scottsdale, as well as Your Local Auto and The Trader shopper, which are operated out of Kittanning.
“I’ve known Gary a long time and have admired his forward-thinking style,” Sample said. “We’re truly fortunate to have him joining our team, and I know Gary is thrilled to be coming back to Pennsylvania where the core of our community newspaper group is located.”
Adkisson had served as publisher of The Sentinel newspaper in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, for three years before his move to North Dakota in 2017. Both Carlisle and Bismarck are part of the Lee Enterprises group of newspapers.
“My wife (Glenda) and I have loved our time in Bismarck,” said Adkisson. “We are sad to leave behind many great friends and colleagues, but are excited to be closer to our children and grandchildren, some of whom have lived in Canonsburg for many years. I am excited to join the Sample News Group and look forward to working with the teams in the western Pennsylvania group.”
Prior to joining Lee in 2014, Adkisson was general manager of The Paducah Sun in Kentucky. He has also been a regional publisher of three daily newspapers and 13 weekly publications for Brown Publishing in Ohio. He has been a publisher at the Bluefield Daily Telegraph in Bluefield, West Virginia, the Weatherford Democrat in Weatherford, Texas, and Livermore Publishing in Mineral Wells, Texas.
A native of southeast Missouri, Adkisson began his career in 1977 as a circulation district manager at The Tennessean and Nashville Banner in Nashville while still a student at Welch College.
Tammy Bish, the Sample group’s publisher in Kittanning, was recently promoted to regional accounting director for the company. Adkisson will work closely with Bish, Latrobe Bulletin Publisher Gary Siegel and Joanne Richey, general manager of the Connellsville Daily Courier.
Sample News Group is a privately held and locally owned media company centered in Pennsylvania. The company operates a dozen daily newspapers across the state, including those in Kittanning, Connellsville, Latrobe, Indiana and Bedford, among others.
In addition to its primary holdings in Pennsylvania, the Sample group also operates daily and weekly newspapers in New York, New Jersey, Vermont and New Hampshire. SNG also curates multiple local websites and operates a number of associated weekly newspapers and shoppers.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here