Kevin Hall named publisher of Georges Media Group as Judi Terzotis moves into new CEO role

I am very excited to pass the reins to Kevin Hall. The team we have assembled allows us to be nimble and focused and to grow the business, which is something you don’t hear much in our industry.”

Judi Terzotis, CEO, Georges Media Group

Kevin Hall, a veteran news executive and the current president of Georges Media Group, the parent company of The Times-Picayune and The Advocate, has been chosen as the news organization’s next publisher. He succeeds Judi Terzotis, who will step down from her position handling the day-to-day management of the company and take on a new role as CEO, the company said Tuesday.

Hall has more than 25 years of experience on the business and sales side of media operations and worked with Terzotis at Gannett, including as a regional vice president of sales of Gannett and the USA TODAY Network. He is married to Beth Hall, a middle school teacher, and they have two sons:  Austin, who is currently serving in the Coast Guard and Nathan, who is a senior at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Hall serves on the boards of directors for the Baton Rouge Area Chamber, One Acadiana and the Louisiana Press Association.

“We are a growth company, and it’s important that we innovate by understanding our audience and customers even more.  As a Louisiana owned business, it’s even more important for us to lead around the state and in the communities, we serve,” he said.

A 40-year veteran of the news industry, Terzotis joined Georges Media from Gannett Media in 2018 where she was regional president for the Gulf Region to serve as president of the company and a year later was tapped to succeed Dan Shea as publisher. At the time, Georges Media, owned by Dathel and John Georges, had just purchased The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com from Advance Local, and Terzotis was tasked with merging the venerable New Orleans newspaper and its website with The Advocate. She did so while navigating the pandemic and fast-moving changes in the media industry. Terzotis oversaw the company’s growth from its base in south Louisiana into a statewide media presence, with the launch last year of The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate, the company’s fourth newsroom. She also led the company’s expansion into the digital media space, placing stories and other content on the newspapers’ websites behind a paywall for the first time. Terzotis is a member of both boards of directors at America’s Newspapers and the Local Media Association, and was honored as Editor & Publisher’s Publisher of the Year and The Baton Rouge Business Report’s Business Person of the Year.

“I am very excited to pass the reins to Kevin Hall,” Terzotis said. “The team we have assembled allows us to be nimble and focused and to grow the business, which is something you don’t hear much in our industry.”

Dathel and John Georges founded Georges Media in 2013 when they purchased The Advocate in Baton Rouge from the Manship family. Now Louisiana’s largest locally owned media company, Georges Media publishes The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com, The Advocate, The Acadiana Advocate, The Shreveport-Bossier City Advocate, Gambit and Arthur Hardy’s Mardi Gras Guide.

“Judi has put together a leadership team that will enable us to attract, retain and recruit the best talent far into the future,” John Georges said. “Kevin has worked in the four major media markets in Louisiana and understands the needs of our communities firsthand.”

“Growing our audience both online and in print will remain a key priority for us alongside a diversified revenue strategy that both disrupts and adapts to changing conditions in the marketplace,” Hall said. “Our team has never been stronger and I couldn’t be more excited for our future as a company that innovates and excels in everything we do.”