By: The State Journal-Register has tapped Jon Broadbooks as its new executive editor, picking a member of the national board of directors for The Associated Press Managing Editors as its top newsroom manager.
Broadbooks, currently editor of the Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y., will take over in Springfield on Jan. 7. He succeeds Barry Locher, who left the paper earlier this month.
Publisher Scott Bowers said Thursday that Broadbooks' experience in online journalism and his familiarity with state capitals -- he has worked in Jackson, Miss., and Montgomery, Ala. _ were key factors in the hiring decision.
"Jon's diverse journalism experience, his idealism and passion to lead a newsroom when readers crave more information both in print and online set him apart," Bowers said. "He understands the state capital culture, and his style seems to fit the community."
Broadbooks, 41, a native of Athens, Ga., has also been executive editor of the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American and assistant managing editor for the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser.
The Utica newspaper has a daily circulation of 42,000 and Sunday circulation of 49,000. The State Journal-Register's circulation is 51,300 daily and 60,300 on Sunday.
Fairport, N.Y.-based GateHouse Media Inc. owns the Utica paper and acquired the State Journal-Register earlier this year from Copley Press Inc. The paper later offered a severance program to nearly 150 of Springfield's 345 workers, citing the need for flexibility amid changes in the newspaper industry.
Last month, Locher, publisher Sue Schmitt and managing editor Robert Pope announced their resignations. Bowers took the publisher's job last week after serving as group controller for GateHouse newspapers in the Rockford area.
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