2007 - Fellows' Bios

AARON BARLOW, Writer and Editor, ePluribus Media Journal
Aaron has a wide background in journalism, though it has never been his career. He came to the field through experience as a compositor and printer, having started at age eleven. By the time he graduated from high school, he had experience with ‘hot’ type operations, stereotype, and offset. He printed his first book a year later, on an old Chandler & Price clamshell press. Earlier, while still in high school, he founded a short-lived “underground” paper, his first attempt at publishing. In college, he spent a semester as a copyboy at The New York Times and worked as an editor and in layout for his college’s student paper. After graduation, in his one short stint as a professional journalist, he worked for The Westerly Sun, covering outlying township school committees and town councils and writing a number of feature stories. Later, while in graduate school, he edited (and wrote a good deal of) a tabloid monthly dedicated to environmental issues called Chinook Winds. Though primarily a teacher of writing, he continues to write, producing everything from books to essays to reviews.

RANDOLPH D. BRANDT, Editor, The Journal Times
Randy is editor of The Journal Times, a 30,000-circulation daily, 32,000 Sunday newspaper in Racine, WI, owned by Lee Enterprises. Brandt has served as editor or managing editor at several newspapers, including the South County Journal in Kent, WA; the Chronicle Tribune in Marion, IN; the Norwich Bulletin in Connecticut; and the Merced Sun-Star in California. Earlier roles include city editor and associate editor at The Daily Journal in Vineland, NJ; staff writer, copy editor, columnist and bureau chief with The Press of Atlantic City; and staff writer at the Vineland Times Journal, also in his native New Jersey.

Randy has a Master of Science degree in Management-Leadership from Thomas A. Edison State College in New Jersey, where he also earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Social-Science-History. He is a member of Phi Alpha Theta, recognizing conspicuous scholarship in the field of history. Brandt also has completed several leadership-management training programs in the industry, including Gannett’s Senior Editor Management Program, Lee Enterprises’ Executive Leadership Program and the American Press Institute’s Executive Development Program for community publishers. He attended the American Society of Newspaper Editors' Journalism Values Institute and The Columbia University Workshops on Journalism, Race & Ethnicity. He is the recipient of many state, regional and national journalism awards and has written or been featured in a number of articles on readership and newsroom management issues for such trade publications as The American Editor, Press Time, Editor & Publisher and others. Brandt is president of the Wisconsin AP Editors’ Association and serves on the Diversity Committee and Readership Committee for the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He is married to Bonnie J. Hollis, a former editor and journalism instructor. Randy ’s daughter Mary is a singer and actor living in New York City.

LOUIS FERRARA, Deputy Managing Editor for Multimedia, AP
Lou joined the Associated Press in July 2005 as the online editor and has help to transform the world’s oldest news agency into a digital enterprise that is focused more on the Web and the future. Prior to joining the AP, Lou oversaw the TV and Web operations in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s converged newsroom in Florida. A former city editor, he has written for papers in Florida, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Saudi Arabia. Cutting across boundaries, he works with multiple AP newsroom departments as well as business operations, technology and customers. His current focus is on helping to transform the AP's sports coverage into a multimedia enterprise that will provide new products and services.

THOMAS E. HESLIN, Managing Editor for New Media, The Providence Journal /projo.com
Tom is the managing editor for new media at The Providence Journal and projo.com. He has been an editor in the Providence newsroom for more than 25 years. In 2005, he received the Yankee Quill Award for lifetime achievement in New England journalism. As managing editor for investigations, Tom directed the Journal’s probe of corruption in the state courts system; that work was awarded the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. As the metropolitan managing editor, he directed the Journal’s coverage of the Station nightclub fire in which 100 people were killed; that work was acknowledged as a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

Tom was a founder of ACCESS/RI, which has worked for 10 years to raise public awareness of the importance of open government in Rhode Island. In 2006, he served as the president of the New England Associated Press News Executives Association, and has helped to found the New England First Amendment Coalition. He has served on the board of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, on the Freedom of Information Committee of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, and as a regional coordinator for Sunshine Week in New England. He is a member of the News/Editorial Advisory Board of the American Press Institute, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at the Poynter Institute. In 2006, he participated in Poynter’s “Critical Issues Conference” concerning on-line ethics in newsrooms. He and his wife, Patricia Bradbury Heslin, live in North Providence, Rhode Island.

ROBERT B. LARSON, VP of Product Management and Development, The New York Times Company
Bob was named vice president, product development and management for NYTimes.com in June 2006, responsible for supervising the site’s incorporation of expanded search, interactivity and new devices such as Times Reader, which allows users to download an electronic version of the newspaper onto a portable device. He also oversees the effort to build out key content areas and distribute news and information onto mobile platforms. Most recently, he led the team responsible for the redesign of NYTimes.com, which launched on April 3, 2006.

Previously, Bob was director, product management and development since May 2004, where he oversaw a team of product managers focusing on paid services such as TimesSelect and the consumer archive, as well as vertical products such as Movies, Theater, Travel, Business and Technology. The product group was also responsible for applications and services such as e-mail, video and search. He served as director, information architecture from June 2000 until April 2004.

Bob previously served as education editor for The New York Times Learning Network beginning in July 1998, after having served as community developer for The Times’ New York Today site. From October 1996 until October 1997, he was deputy editor and then editor for The New York Times on America Online. He began his career at The Times as producer for NYTimes.com in June 1996. Before joining The Times, Bob was a freelance screenwriter. Hereceived a B.F.A. Degree in Film & Television Production from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in 1992. He received an M.A. degree in instructional technology and media from Teachers College at Columbia University in 1996. He is married with two children and lives in Maplewood, NJ.

CHOPETA LYONS, Coordinating Director, ePluribus Media Journal
"Cho" grew up in a multi-generational newspaper family and worked during graduate school as a proof­reader at the Arizona Republic. After ten years teaching college English, she worked in private industry, beginning by writing marketing copy for Coleco Industries, designing educational video and computer games, and eventu­ally becoming Supervisor of Electronic Educational products. Although a writer and editor in her own right, her professional experience for the last twenty years has concentrated on production of multimedia products. She has managed software production teams and departments that design, develop and implement product for Fortune 100 companies as well as other smaller businesses and corporations. Her responsibilities have included budgeting, resourcing, scheduling and creative design direction efforts.

DANIELE MANCA, Editor-in-Chief of Finance and Economy, Corriere della Sera
Daniele Manca is editor in chief of finance and economy for Corriere della Sera, the largest newspaper in Italy with a 700,000 circulation. His duties involve coordinating coverage with the senior economics editor and supervising 12 staff journalists in Milan and six economic journalists based in Rome and foreign bureaus.

His duties included overseeing the 2006 launch of a new weekly section dedicated to careers and professional training and developing business content for the newspaper’s website.

Daniele earned a bachelors in literature and philosophy at the University of Bologna, where he studied under Umberto Eco in the department of music, art, and performance. He joined the business staff of Corriere della Sera in 1994 after specializing in economics reporting and editing at a series of magazines and newspapers in Italy. He lives in Milan with his wife, Matilde Boccardi, a graphic designer at the Unione Sarda Publishing Group, and their two children.

JEFFREY PRICE, President, Sports Illustrated Digital
Jeff was named President of SI Digital, a new division of Sports Illustrated in November 2005. In this position, he has complete responsibility of all SI digital products. He oversees the magazine’s web site, SI.com, as well as the development of other digital products including wireless, video on demand, broadband television and satellite radio.

Jeff, who joined Sports Illustrated in 2002, was most recently the brand’s VP/Chief Marketing Officer. In that capacity, he had complete responsibility for all SI marketing functions. He oversaw the franchise’s strategic initiatives including television projects, properties & partnerships, athlete & team relations, special events & presence at the Olympics, creative services, editorial projects and outreach for SI On Campus (SIOC), the franchise’s brand targeted to college students.

Prior to joining SI, Jeff was the Chief Marketing Officer at Millsport, a sports marketing company. His previous experience also includes serving as Chief Marketing Officer at Trackus, a sports technology start-up; Vice President for sponsorships and events at Mastercard; as General Manager for the Big 12 Conference for USA Sports; and as a sports marketing manager with Gatorade; and working in team services and special events at the NBA. In both 1999 and 2000, Jeff was named to Sports Business Journal’s annual list of “Forty-under-40”. He attended Bates College, where he was a four-year varsity football player and earned his B.A. in American History. He also received an MS in Sports Management from the University of Massachusetts. He currently resides in Sea Cliff, New York. In his free time, he enjoys golf, sailing, traveling and skiing.

SERGIO SALINAS, Executive Vice President and General Manager, San Antonio Express News
Sergio joined the Express-News in September of 2003 and had been senior vice president of sales and marketing since 2004. Prior to returning to San Antonio, he headed up sales and marketing for The Daily Oklahoman and The Dallas Morning News.

Sergio has extensive experience as a senior newspaper executive with particular expertise in advertising, marketing and circulation and has worked for several media companies in major competitive markets. He began his newspaper career in Dallas at The Dallas Times Herald where he held numerous circulation management positions. His extensive circulation experience includes working in such markets as Philadelphia, El Paso, San Francisco, Denver and San Antonio at newspapers like The Philadelphia Bulletin, USA Today and The San Antonio Light.

It was in San Antonio, at the Light, that Sergio made the transition to advertising and marketing. After San Antonio, he joined the Dallas Morning News as advertising director and eventually became senior vice president of sales and marketing. He then joined The Oklahoman in 2002 where he led their sales and marketing strategies before moving back to San Antonio.

In his years in Dallas, he served on the Board of Directors for the Newspaper Federation of America and also volunteered for the United Way of Dallas, the Downtown Improvement District, the Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce and Dallas Concilio. He served on the YMCA Board of Directors in San Antonio and was active in the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber. He is a board member with the San Antonio Symphony and Blue Star, an arts organization. A native Texan, who has not won a Pulitzer, can no longer ski or play racquetball because of a bum knee, and is too stubborn to give up basketball, he recently trained and rode in the MS 150. Sergio and his wife Sarah have a daughter Alyssa, an Ithaca College graduate, who is pursuing her career in Los Angeles.

CALEB SOLOMON, Assistant Managing Editor, The Boston Globe
Caleb became an assistant managing editor of The Boston Globe in February 2003. He is responsible for the paper’s business and economics coverage, including the daily Business section. He also oversees the Globe’s Real Estate, Autos, and BostonWorks sections.

Caleb spent nearly two years in Brussels for The Wall Street Journal Europe, first as the networking editor overseeing a section devoted to technology, media, marketing and management. He was named page one editor and assistant managing editor of the Journal Europe in November 2001. Prior to that, Caleb spent almost four years as editor of The Wall Street Journal/New England, a weekly section he launched devoted to breaking regional news. Caleb previously had headed Texas Journal, the regional section in Texas for The Wall Street Journal. Caleb served for eight years as a Journal reporter in Houston, concentrating on the oil industry. Before that,he was a copy editor for The Journal in New York. For several years he also wrote radio and TV copy for various broadcast services of Dow Jones & Co., publisher of The Journal.Caleb graduated from Columbia College in 1980 with a B.A. in English, and he received a master’s degree from Columbia University’s Journalism School a year later.

STEPHEN B. WEIS, Vice President/General Manager, Chron.com, The Houston Chronicle
As Vice President and General Manager of Chron.com since April 2005, Stephen is responsible for overseeing the business operations and strategic vision of the Chronicle’s Online division. This includes product and content development, sales strategies, marketing and operations. He was hired in August 2004 as Director of Online Sales after holding the same position at the Seattle Times Company in Seattle, Washington.

He has over 10 years of extensive Internet operations and sales experience, including positions at Freedom Communications, Advance Internet/Publications and the Seattle Times Co. An active member of The Greater Houston Partnership Technology Infrastructure Task Force, he has worked with other senior executives to develop a blueprint to turn technology dreams into technological reality for the city of Houston. Stephen is also a member of the Hearst Management Institute V class. A native of Wheaton, Illinois, he holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Iowa.

MARCUS WILFORD, Director of News Coverage for Europe, Middle East and Africa, ABC News, London Bureau
Marcus is responsible for ABC News bureaus, staff and stringers in the region and is the liaison for their international partners, BBC news. Major challenges this year include going to Iraq after ABC anchor Bob Woodruff and his cameraman Doug Vogt were injured, to assess how to improve safety for journalists working in Iraq; lobbying Kremlin officials to agree that ABC News is no longer banned from Russia, having had accreditation withdrawn; and figuring out how to produce ever-more content for ABCNews.com and ABC News Now with the same seemingly finite resources.

Marcus has been ABC London Bureau Chief for four years. Prior to that, he worked as a senior producer for World News Tonight with Peter Jennings, with responsibility for foreign news, working both in New York and London. As a field producer for ABC News based in London for eight years, he covered the Bosnian civil war as a producer with Jim Wooten; the civil war and refugee crisis in Rwanda; and the civil war in Somalia with Ron Allen. He also covered the Hong Kong handover with Aaron Brown, and the Pope’s visit to Cuba with Peter Jennings in 1998. Other assignments include field reports from Sudan, Algeria, Chechnya, Ukraine, Iraq, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Northern Ireland, and much of the Middle East. Marcus joined ABC in 1986, as an assignment editor after working in New York for the McNeil Lehrer Newshour. He has an MA in Modern History from Cambridge University, and lives in London with his wife and two daughters.