Carl Esposito, publisher of The Daily Times (Maryville/Alcoa, Tennessee) for nine years and regional president for Adams Publishing Group for nearly three years, will retire effective Nov. 1, Adams Publishing Group announced in a press release.
Paul W. Mauney, general manager of The Greeneville Sun (Tennessee) and APG’s chief revenue officer for the Tennessee/Western North Carolina/Southern Virginia region, will succeed Esposito as regional president for Adams' Tennessee/North Carolina/Virginia group.
Bryan Sandmeier, general manager of The Daily Times will be promoted to publisher.
Before coming to Maryville, Esposito was Media General's senior executive for its Tennessee/Southwest Virginia properties, which included the Pulitzer prize-winning Bristol Herald Courier, CBS affiliate WJHL-TV, websites TriCities.com and SWVAToday.com, and six paid-circulation weekly newspapers. Esposito will retire following more than four decades of corporate newspaper leadership and community involvement, and currently serves on the boards of the Tennessee Press Association and the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association
"Carl has done an outstanding job of leading our Tennessee/North Carolina/Virginia Group these past few years. His commitment to this industry, his associates and the communities they serve has been second to none. All of us at APG wish him the very, very best in his future endeavors,” said Mark Adams, president and CEO of Adams Publishing Group.
Gregg Jones, APG’s executive vice president and president over the company’s Eastern United States Division, said he was “absolutely thrilled” when he hired Esposito in October 2010. The Daily Times then was owned by Jones’ family.
“My expectations were great, given that my respect for Carl came not just because he was one of the finest newspapermen I had ever known, but because of his decades-long demonstrated commitment to producing wonderful newspapers that reflect and engage their readership, his dedication to fighting for progress in the communities he serves and his strong integrity.
“It would be disingenuous of me to say that I do not selfishly regret to see Carl retire. But, after 40-plus years of his outstanding service to the newspaper industry and to the communities in which he served, I can only express my extreme gratitude to have had the opportunity to work by his side, to learn from him and to claim him as a very dear friend,” Jones said.
“I am so grateful for the opportunities I’ve had with The Daily Times and Adams Publishing Group” Esposito said. “And perhaps the most gratifying part as I prepare to complete my career is knowing that two great leaders in Paul Mauney and Bryan Sandmeier will carry on our tradition of customer and community focus across our Tennessee/North Carolina/Virginia group operations and at The Daily Times.
Mauney joined Adams Publishing in June after managing multiple properties as regional publisher of Gatehouse Media's North Carolina newspapers in the central part of the state. He began his newspaper career in 1987 as district sales manager at The Shelby Star in North Carolina and then held circulation and advertising positions at North Carolina newspapers The Henderson Dispatch and The Enquirer-Journal in Monroe; and at Tennessee newspapers The Daily News Journal in Murfreesboro and The Review Appeal/Brentwood Journal in Franklin; then back to several North Carolina newspapers.
Mauney was also publisher of The Recorder/Noticiero Semanal in Porterville, California from 2004-06, and then served as General Manager of the Newspaper Division of Freedom Communications before moving to Burlington, NC as publisher in 2008, where he eventually became regional publisher, adding The Asheboro Courier-Tribune and Lexington Dispatch to his responsibility.
“We are thrilled that Paul Mauney will take over as president of our TN/NC/VA region. We look forward to great things from this region and Paul,” said Mark Adams, president and CEO of Adams Publishing Group.
Gregg Jones added: “When Carl informed me of his retirement plans, we immediately began to set our sights on the best people we could find to succeed him. Paul Mauney, well-known to me and highly respected in the newspaper industry for decades, became the perfect choice to succeed Carl as Regional President of APG Media of TN/NC/VA. Paul brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise which I am confident he will put to good use for APG’s newspapers, associates and the communities they serve. He was Carl’s and my personal first choice for this position, and I am excited at the prospect of being able to work with him. Paul and his wife Angie will be great additions to the Greene County community.”
“I’m incredibly thankful to have this expanded opportunity to serve the Adams Publishing Group newspapers in Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia, in addition to The Greeneville Sun.” Mauney said. “I look forward to working with all the fine associates throughout the group and their communities.”Sandmeier, a North Dakota native, has been circulation director of The Daily Times since 2008 and took on the dual role as general manager in January 2017.
From 2002-08, Sandmeier was circulation director at the Manhattan (Kan.) Mercury; from 2000-02, he was circulation director at the Jonesboro (Ark.) Sun; in 1999 and 2000, he held the same position at the Times-Record in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He was circulation director for 12 years at The Salina (Kansas) Journal, held several positions at the Racine (Wis.) Journal Times, and also worked as distribution manager at The Bismarck (N.D.) Tribune.
“Carl’s retirement is a huge loss to the Adams Publishing Group, The Daily Times and the communities we serve,” Sandmeier said. “But I am determined to do him proud as his successor at The Daily Times.”
Of Sandmeier, Gregg Jones said he was the “natural person to jump into Carl’s big shoes as publisher of The Daily Times. In fact, having acted as general manager of The Daily Times since Jan. 1, 2017, and having had Carl as his mentor for the past nine years, Bryan already pretty much has the publisher’s job down pat.”
With 30 daily newspapers, more than 100 non-daily newspapers and other enterprises operating in 20 states and the District of Columbia, Adams Publishing Group describes itself as “first and foremost a family-owned community newspaper company, which is driven to provide high quality products and services that make a positive difference in the lives of its constituents, which are, in prioritized order: its readers, its customers/advertisers, its communities, its Associates (employees) and its shareholders.”
Other Adams family enterprises include outdoor advertising (billboards), radio, wine, Camping World/Good Sam (recreational vehicles) and significant philanthropic endeavors.
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