Hartford, Conn. -- July 8, 2004 -- Mark Aldam, senior vice president and general manager of The Hartford Courant, announced today that Fran Zankowski is stepping down as chief executive officer of New Mass. Media, Inc., publisher of the Advocate weekly alternative newspapers in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Zankowski has been CEO of New Mass. Media since 1999, when the company was purchased by The Courant. He is leaving July 30 to pursue other opportunities.
"Following the acquisition of New Mass. Media in 1999, Fran was instrumental in leading The Advocate newspapers through the transition from a privately owned and operated business to a publicly traded ownership culture," said Aldam. "Fran facilitated most of the integration we achieved during the past four years between The Advocates and The Courant. His steadfast passion for the alternative press guided our path toward a more cooperative union of media companies, while maintaining a clear separation between the news gathering operations."
As CEO of New Mass. Media, Zankowski oversaw the operations of the Hartford Advocate, the New Haven Advocate and the Fairfield County Weekly, all in Connecticut, and the Valley Advocate in Massachusetts.
Prior to becoming CEO, Zankowski was publisher of the Hartford Advocate, having been named to that position in 1994. Before that, he was advertising manager of the New Haven Advocate for two years. He moved to Connecticut in 1992 from Durham, N.C., where he was general manager and advertising manager of The Independent Weekly. Prior to that, he was advertising manager and circulation manager of Specialized Agricultural Publications in Raleigh, N.C., and general manager and circulation manager of Washington Dossier in Washington D.C. Zankowski is on the board of directors of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies and the Greater Hartford Arts Council.
The Hartford Courant, a Pulitzer Prize-winning newspaper, is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the nation. The Courant's daily circulation is 187,394, Thursday is 242,041 and Sunday is 283,410. The largest daily newspaper in Connecticut, The Courant is a subsidiary of Tribune Company, one of the country's premier media companies, operating businesses in broadcasting and publishing and on the Internet. Tribune reaches more than 80 percent of U.S. households. More information about The Hartford Courant is available online at
http://www.ctnow.com/about/custom/thc/.
