Leaders named at Alabama Media Group newspapers as print production, design consolidate

Alabama Media Group has tapped four senior journalists with decades of experience in Alabama journalism to lead a new team of editors responsible for content decisions in The Birmingham News, The Huntsville Times and the Press-Register of Mobile.

The move is part of a larger reorganization of how the company produces its newspapers, with a goal of increasing local impact. Since 2012, all three Alabama papers have relied on a centralized operation in Birmingham for content selection, design and layout.

K.A. Turner, a director with Alabama Media Group since 2012 with more than 30 years of news experience across Alabama, will lead the new teams managing content selection and editing for the papers. Her local leaders will be:

• In Mobile: Dewey English, Jr., curator at Alabama Media Group and former managing editor for the Press-Register in Mobile.
• In Birmingham: Dave Sharp, curation manager at Alabama Media Group and former Page 1 editor for The Birmingham News and presentation editor for the Birmingham Post-Herald.
• In Huntsville: Shelly Haskins, opinion manager for Alabama Media Group in Huntsville and former city editor for the Huntsville Times.

The content team itself, made up of more than 100 digitally-focused reporters, photographers and other journalists across Alabama, continues to be overseen by David Magee, the company's senior director of content.

With these newspaper leaders in Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville focused on editing and setting the direction for print, the company will also consolidate print production in a new newspaper publications center in New Orleans operated by the newly formed Advance Media Southeast.

Alabama Media Group's newspapers continue as the three largest in the state.

Working with the Alabama newspaper editors, journalists at that facility will be responsible for the production and layout of pages of the Alabama papers, The Mississippi Press in Pascagoula, as well as The Times-Picayune (New Orleans).

The regional publications team will be led by Terry Baquet, currently director of The Times-Picayune's print team, according to Ricky Mathews, president of Nola Media Group and Advance Media Southeast.

Jeff Glick, now director of print for Alabama Media Group, will lead a design team that will include some of the top page designers in the country, Mathews said.

Additional offers have been extended to  print journalists in Birmingham to join the new regional operations. The move will result in some job loss in Birmingham; the final number will be dependent on the number of those accepting offers in New Orleans.

"We felt it was important to strengthen the news decision-making in Birmingham, Mobile and Huntsville even as we take a new approach to design and production," said Michelle Holmes, Alabama Media Group's vice president of content.

"It is the news leadership that defines the newspaper more than where its production happens."

Alabama Media Group's newspapers continue as the three largest in the state.

"We know people in Alabama and Mississippi continue to have a strong bond with their newspapers," Holmes said. "We are committed to continuing to produce them, and committed to ensuring they are filled with the most important and compelling local, state and, national content possible. Having newspaper content decisions made in Huntsville, Birmingham and Mobile will support that."

The Press-Register, The Mississippi Press and The Times-Picayune will be printed and packaged in Mobile. The Birmingham News and Huntsville Times will continue to be printed and packaged in Birmingham.