By: (AP) The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has named a new senior vice president for circulation in the wake of a lawsuit last month alleging circulation fraud at Wisconsin's top-selling newspaper.
The newspaper said Thursday that Hugh McGarry, director of single-copy sales and marketing for the company that publishes The Denver Post and the Rocky Mountain News, will assume the post June 27. He has held circulation management positions at the Chicago Tribune and USA Today.
"His creativity and clear focus on customer service are contagious and will help him lead the way in our efforts to grow readership," Publisher Elizabeth Brenner said.
Brenner had announced the departure of three executive in the circulation department in March, less than three months after she assumed her post.
The newspaper said that followed an internal review that found some practices did not meet standards, mostly in the area of documentation, set by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.
The Journal Sentinel deducted several thousand papers from its Sunday circulation in its most recent report following the review and consultation with the Audit Bureau.
McGarry said it was not unusual for a newspaper to realize one of its marketing programs was faulty and voluntarily deduct circulation.
"I think the Journal Sentinel did the right thing," he said.
One of the paper's advertisers, Shorewest Realtors, sued Journal Sentinel Inc. in April, alleging it had deliberately overstated circulation since 1996. The paper's corporate parent, Journal Communications Inc., has denied the allegations.
McGarry, 47, said the Journal Sentinel had strong market penetration.
"My vision is to make sure we get as much readership as possible," he said.
The Journal Sentinel began publication in 1995 after The Milwaukee Journal and Milwaukee Sentinel, which were both owned by the company, merged.
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