Congrats to SNPA members on E&P's '25 under 35' list

Three dynamic young executives from CNHI, plus young professionals from GateHouse, McClatchy and Swift Communications are among those recognized in Editor & Publisher magazine's annual "25 under 35" feature.

Each of the following are among those chosen as leaders who are successfully confronting the challenges the industry faces:

• Kayla Gagnet Castille, 35, senior vice president of content and digital operations for CNHI
• Angelia JaKaye Garth, 24, classified advertising and customer service manager for the Commonwealth Journal in Somerset, Ky.
• Justin Niles, 27, audience development director of the Mankato Free Press in Minnesota
• Adam Trumble, 35, editorial director of Sierra Nevada Media Group and editor of the Nevada Appeal, Carson City, Nev.
• Chris Segal, 31, executive editor, Sun Journal (New Bern, N.C.), Free Press (Kinston, N.C.) and managing editor, Daily News (Jacksonville, N.C.)
• Ross McDuffie, 33, Georgia regional vice president, advertising, The McClatchy Co., Columbus, Ga.

Their stories appear in the magazine's April 2018 issue.

Castille, Garth and Niles represent a growing number of young people within CNHI who are helping chart the course of what's next, CNHI President and Chief Executive Officer Donna Barrett said.

"We are so proud of CNHI's young executives," she said. "They are contributing at a high level and helping our company build a bright future."

Castille leads content initiatives and digital operations for more than 120 newspapers and affiliated websites and mobile apps within the CNHI company.

"I'm so honored to be recognized among other talented young people who are working to transform our industry," Castille said. "This is an exciting and challenging time to work in journalism, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to help figure out our path forward."

Jim Zachary, deputy national editor for CNHI, said what makes Castille stand out is her belief that "quality journalism and great content" will drive audience.

"She is always, first and foremost, a journalist, implementing best practices for digital and social media performance while maintaining the highest of journalistic standards for herself and editors and reporters she oversees," Zachary said.

Garth, who joined the company in 2015 as a circulation clerk, helped spearhead a digital overhaul of the Commonwealth Journal's tear sheet process.

"We did physical tear sheets when I started." Garth said. "It took a lot of time to pull off, but now the process is done online through our website and emails and is so much easier and efficient."

Garth was promoted to classified advertising manager in 2017, and has leveraged the company's partnership with Monster.com to create bundles of print and web advertising to help increase the Commonwealth Journal's revenue.

Niles, whose 10-year career has spanned four newspapers, has focused on improving circulation productivity and efficiency.

A key, Niles said, has been to make "changes from the way things have always been done."

Niles said one of the challenges in a smaller market like Mankato is to find ways to attract the same customers over and over.

It's important, he said, "to piece together what (readers) interests are and what kind of offer needs to be presented to get them to subscribe to the publication."

E&P says McDuffie has "established himself as innovator and has helped form strong partnerships with local businesses across communities in his region. A prime example is a current project he is leading called Together Columbus. The multi-year effort brings together 20 local CEO and presidents for a marketing campaign highlighting the region's best assets and to coordinate community improvement projects.

"McDuffie's leadership has helped sales operate more efficiently and has led to increase in revenue but it is his commitment to promoting the community that makes him stand out as an all-around industry professional."

Segal was chosen because of his leadership in the newsrooms in New Bern, Kinston and Jacksonville, N.C., and for the way he has moved them into a stronger digital place. According to Pam Sander, GateHouse Media Coastal Carolina Group's regional editor: "He's put processes in place, rolled out goals to the staffs and collaborated with sister newspapers across the region and state for the best journalism. His commitment to our industry is inspiring."

Trumble of Swift Communications' Nevada Appeal, is what E&P called a "master planner." E&P says he "stands out from the pack due to his ability to manage 13 deadlines a week across four platforms. That's mind-boggling just to think about but as the editorial director for the Sierra Nevada group, Trumble can do it all."

He is in charge of a six-day newspaper, a three-times a week publication and a two-times a week publication as well as niche weeklies. And, he's grown readership across all platforms by 15 percent since 2014; 20 percent in 2016 alone for the Nevada Appeal.

Read their stories and more at this link.