Wick Communications

Marisa Gerber Stories about Border Patrol shootings, cage-like waiting areas at a local port of entry, a dynamic drama teacher and a community-centered radio station in Sonora Mexico earned writers from the Nogales International a fistful of accolades Saturday from the Arizona Press Club. In all, NI journalists past and present took home two first-place prizes, one second-place award, two third-place finishes and two honorable mentions in the [...]

John Mathew John M. Mathew has resigned as chief executive officer of Wick Communications Co. and as a member of the board. His departure will coincide with the naming of his successor as CEO, a process expected to take up to six months, and he will continue to run the company during that period. Steve Phillips, chairman of the board of Wick Communications Co., said the search for [...]

Jim Keyes Jim Keyes, digital sales manager for Territorial Newspapers in Tucson, has been named digital media sales manager for Wick Communications Company. Keyes fills a new revenue position in the company and will work closely with Christian Ramirez, who, as digital media manager, handles web technology for the company.  Keyes will report to Cindy Hefley, advertising director for Wick Communications Company.  Keyes takes on his new role [...]

Lou Major By Bob & Walt Wick "There will always be a need for good story telling," Lou Major Sr. often said. Besides being a good story teller, we think the long-time newspaperman turned out to be a pretty good story himself, starting as a cub reporter and ending as the CEO of our family-owned newspaper company, overseeing more than 25 newspapers. Lou, 82, died this week/recently after [...]

Lou Major Sr. Lou Major, whose journalism career in Louisiana and with Wick Communications Company spanned six decades, died on Tuesday. Major, a native of New Orleans who resided in Bogalusa, La., for 55 years, had lived in Slidell, La., since 2006. He was 82 when he died after a lengthy battle with lymphoma. Born in Meridian, Miss., he was reared in New Orleans and Jefferson Parish. He [...]

Steve Baker, publisher of the Capital Journal in Pierre, SD South Dakota Newspaper Association Steve Baker, publisher of the Capital Journal in Pierre, was elected president of South Dakota Newspaper Association on April 26 during the annual newspaper convention in Rapid City. Baker grew up in Minot, N.D. He began his career in his hometown newspaper working there from 1979 until 1991. Baker has been a publisher for [...]

The Half Moon Bay Review has been judged the third best small weekly in the nation and the best in its class in California. On April 27, the California Newspaper Publishers Association announced the newspaper was its General Excellence winner among weekly newspapers of similar sizes. It is the first time the newspaper has been so honored in at least a decade. The newspaper also took the top [...]

Christian Ramirez Christian Ramirez, a web developer for Wick Communications Company since 2008, has been named digital media manager effective immediately. "Christian will serve us well in this position," said Tom Lee, group manager. "He knows the technology and the people who operate it." Ramirez will focus on the technical side of digital media as well as assist in providing training and software related to increasing [...]

Advertising Representative Christine Browning, Sports Editor Ryan Arena, General Manager and Managing Editor David Vitrano and Lifestyle Editor Tasha Atwood show off the many awards L'Observateur took home from the 133rd annual Louisiana Press Association convention held in Baton Rouge April 20. L'Observateur newspaper of LaPlace, La., took home the coveted Newspaper of the Year award at the 133rd annual Louisiana Press Association convention held April 20 in [...]

Robert Arrowsmith Robert Arrowsmith has been named to succeed Libby Berndt as publisher of the Sidney Herald and begins work there on May 22. He'll have a chance to work with Libby prior to her June 1 departure. Robert most recently has been circulation director at Clovis Media Inc., a small group of newspapers in eastern New Mexico. Prior to that he was circulation director and management trainee [...]

Wick Communications has sold the Cibola Beacon in Grants, N.M., to a new company called El Toro Orion Publishing, LLC, owned by long-time Beacon Publisher Donald Jaramillo and his business partner, Randolph Collins. The sale was effective April 1 and closed on Thursday. We wish Donald and Randolph luck with their new acquisition. Wick is not contemplating the sale of any other newspapers. John M. Mathew President and [...]

Libby Berndt After more than 25 years in the newspaper business, Sidney Herald publisher Libby Berndt has decided to turn the page of that section of her life. Wick Communications and Berndt have announced the Sidney native’s final day as the Herald’s publisher will be May 31. “We are in the process of seeking her successor,” John Mathew, Wick Communications CEO, said. “Libby has done an excellent job [...]

Click on the image to see full-size. The Half Moon Bay Review produced an unusual special section on March 27 to commemorate the opening of a massive tunnel and bridge opening – the first such project in California in 50 years. The Tom Lantos Tunnels at Devil’s Slide were decades in the making. The $439 million project took more than seven years to finish, but it was first [...]

J. Kennon March brought a number of changes to LaPlace, La.-based L’Observateur, most notably the return of Joy “J” Kennon as the newspaper’s publisher. Kennon previously served as publisher of L’Observateur from 1995 until 2000. Her return was prompted by the closing of St. Tammany News in February. Until its closing, St. Tammany News was part of the Pontchartrain Newspaper Group along with L’Observateur and the Daily News [...]

Jack Tierney John F. “Jack” Tierney has been elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of Sierra Vista-based Wick Communications Co. Tierney, a certified public accountant, was senior business executive for more than 30 years at multi-national corporations including DineEquity, Dial Corp., Nestle Foods, Chevron Corp. and Perdue Farms. He focused primarily on financial matters, but also held significant operating responsibilities. “Jack Tierney is an [...]

Argus Observer' new press units. Ontario — On Tuesday, The Argus Observer will be printing its newspapers using upgraded press units installed in a significant investment project made by parent company Wick Communications. Work to remove three existing units and install four new units began Thursday and will conclude Monday, when the first test runs will take place. The upgrade will improve color reproduction and allow for four [...]

Click on the image to see full-size. The Half Moon Bay Review helped fuel a sensation created by one musician, one piano and one very special view. On Feb. 1, California artist and musician Mauro Ffortissimo enlisted friends to haul a disintegrating baby grand piano to the bluff top overlooking the Pacific Ocean. His plan: Play Robert Schumann’s “Arabeske” every night at sunset through the month of February. [...]

St. Tammany News, which publishes The News Banner in western St. Tammany Parish and the Slidell Sentry News in eastern St. Tammany Parish, will print its last edition Feb. 27. Wick Communications, the newspaper’s parent company, started the Slidell Sentry News in 1975 and purchased the News Banner in 1976. The two newspapers operated independently until 2005, when they combined staffs following Hurricane Katrina. John Mathew, president and [...]

Old design ... New design ... Click on the images to see full-size. A redesign of The Daily Herald was unveiled for readers Tuesday, Jan. 15. The new look features a new “The Daily Herald” logo in the top left side of page one, with each word stacked on top of each other. Next to the logo is a large space promoting interesting stories not on the front [...]

Lisa Berrian has been named the new ad director for the Daily Iberian Lisa Berrian has been named advertising director of The Daily Iberian, said publisher Will Chapman. Berrian has worked previously in advertising sales and sales management for The Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Ga., and The Telegraph in Macon, Ga., both owned by the McClatchy newspaper company. She started in the newspaper business as an intern while in [...]

David Bell David Bell, of Lake Havasu City, Ariz., has been selected as managing editor of the Eastern Arizona Courier in Safford, Ariz., and plans to join the staff on Jan. 7, 2013. "The Courier is in a really great place, with a talented, knowledgeable staff and a publisher who cares about the product and the community," Bell said in an interview Thursday, Dec. 20. "The next step [...]

Cheryl Metiva From the Frontiersman.com The Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman has added a seasoned sales and marketing professional to its staff. Wasilla resident Cheryl Metiva joins the Frontiersman team on Monday as director of advertising and marketing. She most recently served as director of marketing for Morris Communications in Anchorage, where she was responsible for creating and implementing effective sales messaging that encompassed the entire line of Morris print [...]

Dan Gibson Dan Gibson, former web producer at Territorial Newspapers, will take over as editor of the Tucson Weekly on Jan. 1, publisher Tom Lee announced on Nov. 26. "Dan's background in alternative newsweeklies and how they relate to website development and social media makes him the logical choice for the position," Lee said. Gibson will join the staff immediately after resigning his most recent position as digital [...]

Click on the image to see full-size. The Half Moon Bay Review has been honored with third place in the nationwide Local Media Association Newspaper of the Year contest. The contest was for the 2012 calendar year and results were announced Nov. 19. The Review competed in the non-daily, under-10,000 circulation, category among newspapers that have twice the Review’s readership. The Taos News took home first place in [...]

John Buckley (left) and Robert DeBerryPhoto by Heather Resz It’s been almost a year since we met John Buckley during one of life’s clarifying moments. We were going about our everyday activities, Dec. 23, 2011, at the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman when our paths crossed with Buckley’s. He was at our offices delivering a load of newsprint with American Fast Freight when an accident happened that severed his arm [...]

Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald More than 300 people came through the newspaper building for The Daily Herald’s Spooka-Licious Halloween event from 4 to 6 p.m. on Oct. 31 which helped raise money for the Halifax County Boys and Girls Clubs. Trick-or-treaters were able to go through three candy stations and then have their photos taken for a special section which is scheduled to publish Sunday, Nov. 4. Several [...]

Eligible employees may enroll in the health benefits offered by Wick Communications in November. During this period, November 1 to November 30, you may do the following: Enroll for the first time provided you will have worked at least 60 days by December 31, 2012 Change the coverage level of your benefits Add or remove dependents including domestic partners This is the only time during the year you [...]

Scott McIntosh ONTARIO — Beginning Monday the Argus Observer and Independent Enterprise in Payette will have a new editor to oversee operations of the editorial department. Scott McIntosh, 41, has been a newspaper journalist for 18 years. Most recently, he was the owner and editor of the Kuna Melba News, a weekly, in Kuna, for five years, from 2006 to 2011. During that time, he won 27 awards [...]

It would be an understatement to say that Wick newspapers did well in the Arizona Newspaper Association’s annual Better Newspaper Contest. All in all, the publications took home a number of awards that reached into the triple digits. Some of the highlights: • Bill Hess, of the Sierra Vista Herald/Bisbee Daily Review, was named the daily Journalist of the Year. Hess was honored for his body of work [...]

Click on the image to see full-size. The Half Moon Bay Review has been honored with the best Front Page in this year’s Inland Press Association editorial contest. The newspaper also took second for Editorial Excellence in separate judging that focused on opinion pieces. It is not the first time the Inland Press Association has honored the California weekly. In 2007, the association named the Half [...]