Today’s News-Herald editor named to national newspaper publication’s 25 under 35 list

The editor of the Today’s News-Herald has been named one of the newspaper industry’s 25 rising stars by Editor & Publisher magazine, a national trade publication.Brandon Bowers, who joined the News-Herald in June, was selected for the trade magazine’s annual 25 under 35 list.“As a newspaper we’re very proud of Brandon for this recognition,” said Mike Quinn, publisher of the News-Herald. “It’s a great reflection on him, and it’s a sign of his dedication to excellence and continued efforts to improve our newsgathering efforts.”In the nine months he’s been in Lake Havasu City, Bowers has helped to transform the newsroom with an increased emphasis on local news and sports coverage. Those efforts have contributed to a rise in readership, both in print and online. The News-Herald’s digital reach has realized dramatic new heights in recent months, thanks to a focused initiative by newsroom staffers at providing consistent, timely online updates at HavasuNews.com, and a renewed commitment to improving engagement over social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.“I couldn’t have earned this honor without first building good teams around me,” Bowers said. “The news staff in Havasu is one of the best groups of journalists I’ve worked with. We’ve worked hard for months to improve both the quality and quantity of news coming out of the Havasu newsroom, and we’re starting to see the fruits of that labor.”In addition to his responsibility for the news content of the News-Herald, Bowers is responsible for the weekly Parker Pioneer and the quarterly magazine “Havasu…Arizona’s Coastal Life.”Bowers, 35, has worked for newspapers since he was 16, starting as a newsroom clerk at his hometown paper in Manteca, California. He has worked as an editor for papers in the California cities of Turlock and Merced, as well as a small daily newspaper in Carlsbad, New Mexico.While in Carlsbad, Bowers helped that newspaper realize consistent 30 percent growth in its digital traffic and the newsroom staff won three corporate awards over a nine-month period, outshining much bigger newspapers with larger staffs.The “25 under 35″ feature will be included in Editor & Publisher’s April edition.Bowers lives in Havasu with his wife, Amanda, and their three children, Aimee, Sophiamarie and Noah.