Record number of GateHouse newspapers receive company's Inner Circle Award

GateHouse Media has awarded nine Southern Illinois newspapers with the company's prestigious Inner Circle Awards for Q2:

• Benton Evening News
• Carmi Times
• Olney Daily Mail
• Du Quoin Evening Call
• Daily Republican (Marion)
• Murphysboro American
• Randolph County Herald Tribune
• The Daily American (West Frankfort)
• The Daily Register (Harrisburg)

Inner Circle evaluations focus on prints initiatives such as reader involvement, print and online promotions and alternative story formats; and online initiatives, such as Facebook, website updates, galleries, video and community blogging. This is the most S.I. newspapers that have received this award in a quarter. 

Congrats to all the winning newsrooms.   

Six Southern Illinois newsrooms win GateHouse Inner Circle Awards

GateHouse Media has award six of its Southern Illinois newspapers with the company's prestigious Inner Circle Awards for Q2:

• Daily American (West Frankfort)
• Du Quoin Evening Call

• Murphysboro American

• The Carmi Times

• The Daily Register (Harrisburg)

• The Olney Daily Mail


Inner Circle evaluations focus on prints initiatives such as reader involvement, print and online promotions and alternative story formats; and online initiatives, such as Facebook, website updates, galleries, video and community blogging. This is the most S.I. newspapers that have received this award in a quarter. 

Congrats to all the winning newsrooms.   

Three Southern Illinois GateHouse papers receive recognition

Congrats to three Southern Illinois newspapers that have received "Inner Circle" recognition from our parent company, GateHouse Media: 

• The Daily Register (Harrisburg)
• Murphysboro American
• Randolph County Herald Tribune (Chester)

After a week of evaluating GateHouse newspapers and websites, 178 newsrooms were certified into the company's "Inner Circle" for the first quarter; the announcement was made today. The quarterly program measures newsrooms in several print and online categories, including updates, photo galleries, and Facebook, as well as categories such as specific alternative story formats in print. This year, categories such as video and community blogs are new to the process.

Harrisburg and Eldorado daily newspapers name DeNeal as managing editor

We announced this week that long-time Daily Register staff writer Brian DeNeal has been named managing editor of that Harrisburg daily and the Eldorado Daily Journal.

DeNeal has been with the paper since July 1999. He replaces Terry Geese, who was recently named regional editor of GateHouse's Southern Illinois group.

Read the full story.

Harrisburg to publish a special tornado recovery edition Sunday

Harrisburg residents can look for a special newsstand edition of The Daily Register tomorrow (Sunday) devoted entirely to the tornado recovery effort.

Normally, the Register is a Monday-Friday publication but staff felt it was important not to go the whole weekend without reporting on the recovery effort from the storm. The special effort was organized by Southern Illinois group advertising manager Doris Wilson and regional senior editor Terry Geese.

Unfortunately, we were unable to make arrangements to home deliver the newspaper on Sunday; home delivery customers can pick up a copy of the newsstand edition free at the newspaper's offices this week.

The newspaper received attention for its considerable coverage of the storm this week from the Web site for the American Copy Editors Society. Visual journalist Charles Apple analyzed the newspaper's coverage at length and called it "pretty amazing work. Especially for a newspaper this size."

Sister newspaper The Daily Republican in Marion received corporate recognition for its tornado-themed coverage on Friday for the company's "Front Page of the Day" from parent company GateHouse Media. Editor Bill Swinford and team have received the honor numerous times in the last 90 days.

CNN interviews GateHouse regional editor on Harrisburg tornado

GateHouse Southern Illinois regional editor Terry Geese's interview on CNN today about the tornado in Harrisburg was mentioned in some quarters on the Internet including this post.

Complete local coverage here.

GateHouse Southern Illinois tornado coverage this weekend

Look for 8-page special Southern Illinois tornado coverage special sections both Thursday and Friday on newsstands in the Daily Register (Harrisburg), Daily Republican (Marion), Daily American (West Frankfort), Benton Evening News and El Dorado Daily Journal.

And check often for regular updates at dailyregister.com throughout the next week.

Doris Wilson is GateHouse Southern Illinois new group advertising manager

Announcement late this week: Doris Wilson was named Group Advertising Manager, GateHouse Media Southern Illinois. Doris will lead our sales teams in following offices: Harrisburg, Galatia, Benton, West Frankfort, DuQuoin, Marion and Carmi.

She has served as advertising manager at the Daily Register in Harrisburg for 12 years. Prior to that, she worked at the Du Quoin Evening Call.

Congrats Doris!

This is the latest in a a series of promotions. Several other leadership changes in GateHouse Southern Illinois announced last month prior to my launch of this blog:

- George Wilson will supervise operations at The (Harrisburg) Daily Register, Eldorado Daily Journal, The Carmi Times, The Weekly Times, White County Shopper News, The Gallatin Democrat, Ridgway News and the Money Stretcher.

- Ray McGrew is group publisher of the Olney Daily Mail, CCAP Special, Jasper County News Eagle, Newton Press Mentor, Teutopolis Press and the Richland County Shopper.

- Tom Tiernan is group publisher of the Murphysboro American, Steeleville Ledger and Randolph County Herald News. Sabrina Franklin remains general manager of the Steeleville and Randolph County newspapers.

- Terry Geese, former managing editor in Harrisburg and Eldorado, has been promoted to senior editor of the Southern Illinois group.

- Robert Wall, former publisher of the Daily Republican in Marion, has been promoted to regional advertising director for the southern Illinois group.

GateHouse Media, Inc., headquartered in Fairport, N.Y., is one of the largest publishers of locally based media in the United States, as measured by its 97 daily publications. It currently serves local audiences of more than 10 million per week across 21 states through hundreds of community publications and websites. GateHouse Media is traded in the over-the-counter market under the symbol "GHSE."

There are eight daily newspapers and 20 weekly and shopper publications in the southern Illinois division of GateHouse, as well as affiliated websites and several niche publications.