Editor of Progress is also named publisher; Dabney named publisher in Hammond

John Dilmore and Baily Dabney

John Dilmore, editor of the Claremore (Okla.) Daily Progress since November, has also been named publisher of the paper.  He had been general manager as well as editor.

The appointment means Dilmore, 43, will assume responsibility for all operations of the newspaper, its related publications and its website, www.claremoreprogress.com. In the publisher role, he succeeds Baily Dabney, who recently became publisher of the Hammond (La.) Daily Star.

Baily Dabney:
Dabney said his move to the Hammond Star is an opportunity to help grow a larger daily paper in one of Louisiana's fastest growing cities.

"The Hammond Star is a Louisiana newspaper with a rich history of strong journalism and service to community," said Dabney. "So I am joining a newspaper that embraces the same principles the Daily Progress has strived to live by every day."

The Hammond Star is owned by the Paxton Media Group of Paducah, Ky. It publishes every day of the week except Monday and has a circulation of more than 10,000 in serving the north shore area of Lake Pontchartrain.

John Dilmore:
Mike Beatty, regional executive for the paper's parent company, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., said Dilmore earned the promotion to publisher during his time as editor and general manager at the paper.

"We're now excited to see John in the role of publisher as well as editor," said Mike Beatty, publisher of The Joplin Globe and CNHI regional executive. "He has shown great leadership, and his combination of newsroom and business experience will allow the newspaper to continue to grow right along with Claremore and Rogers County."

Dilmore said the paper's staff will continue to focus on local news coverage in print and online while offering businesses comprehensive print and digital strategies to reach the Claremore and Rogers County market.

"When I began here as editor I said that I'd always been passionate about the role newspapers play in their communities," said Dilmore. "These past few months have only strengthened that belief. I can't imagine a more rewarding profession than publishing a newspaper, and Claremore has to be one of the best places in the world to do that."

Dilmore is the former publisher of the Siloam Springs (Ark.) Herald-Leader and former opinion page editor of the Benton County (Ark.) Daily Record. His time at those papers resulted in top honors from the Arkansas Press Association for column writing and editorial writing.

Most recently, he served as editor and general manger of the Andrews County (Texas) News and before that was publisher of the Alpine (Texas) Avalanche.  He has also served as editor and publisher of community-focused publications in Alabama and Mississippi.

Dilmore is a 1995 graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a degree in journalism. He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Claremore.