Frederick appointed president of Donrey's newspaper operations

Frederick, who retains his duties as publisher of Donrey's largest newspaper, replaces Emmett Jones, who the company said is retiring Feb. 1.

The announcement was made in Fort Smith, Ark., by Warren A. Stephens, president of Stephens Group Inc., the investor group that owns Donrey.

It follows the announcement earlier this month that Donrey had agreed to merge its 10 daily papers in California with a subsidiary of William Dean Singleton's MediaNews Group Inc. MediaNews will manage the papers and Donrey will retain a one-third interest.

Last July, Donrey sold 28 newspapers to Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. of Birmingham, Ala.

Frederick will be in charge of Donrey's 14 remaining newspapers.

"While change is never easy, I am excited about the future of Donrey," Stephens said.

Stephens also announced the retirements of Dave Osborn, vice president of Donrey's western newspaper group, and Don Schneider, vice president of the eastern newspaper group. Lynn Mosier, vice president of administrative support in Fort Smith, resigned to pursue other business interests.

Ron Lamar was promoted from vice president to president of the group that runs the company's nine outdoor advertising companies and its Reno, Nev., television station.

"The Donrey management team performed well since our acquisition of the company in 1993 and I wish Emmett, Don and Dave success in the future," Stephens said. "We decided to adopt a more streamlined management structure in light of the changes the company has undergone in the last year."

The 47-year-old Frederick, who began his newspaper career with Donrey in 1976 as a reporter at the Review-Journal, later became editor of the Hawaii Tribune-Herald in Hilo, then publisher of the Alamogordo (N.M.) Daily News. He returned to Las Vegas as editor in 1988 and was named publisher in 1992.

"I believe a leaner organizational structure, which enables publishers to take quick, decisive action, will enable Donrey to respond to competitive pressures and new opportunities," Frederick said.

Donrey has newspapers in eight states: Nevada, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Oklahoma, Washington and Hawaii.

archive