Experienced Management Team

The Brown family has been publishing successful newspapers in Ohio since 1920. Led by CEO Roy Brown, the current management team has significant experience in the newspaper publishing business, both with Brown and with other newspaper companies. The team has successfully expanded the Company over the last several years and consolidated its operations from 18 autonomous papers to four divisions. On average, the senior executive team has 15 years of experience in the business.

Brown also has an experienced core of managers at the divisional level. Brown's publishers have an average of 19.5 years and its senior editors have an average of 22.5 years in newspaper publishing. Most of the management at these levels live and work in the communities served by their newspapers.

Roy Brown assumed the duties of President and CEO on January 1, 2000. He currently is responsible for all functions of the Company's management. After five years on the Company's Board of Directors, Mr. Brown joined the Company full-time in 1996 as the Company's first General Counsel and has dealt with a wide range of day-to-day legal issues while also helping to develop the Company's operational and long-term growth strategy. Mr. Brown next served as the Company's Chief Operating Officer in 1999 until his appointment as CEO. In his short tenure, Mr. Brown has cultivated several growth prospects for the Company and has overseen the acquisition of twelve newspaper operations for the Company.

Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Dempsey was Assistant General Counsel for True North Communications based in Chicago. He also spent 6 years in New York as a litigation associate at the firm of Richards & O'Neil. Mr. Dempsey received both his B.A. and his J.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. He is licensed to practice law in New York, Illinois and Ohio.

Mr. Ellingham began his career in newspapers with the Tribune Company as planning director and later controller at the Sun-Sentinel in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. He moved to Riverside after 15 years with Tribune Co. At Press-Enterprise, Mr. Ellingham was responsible for and managed an entirely new regime of financial and operational planning for the family-owned company. Largely as a result of these efforts, the Press-Enterprise was sold in 1996 with a profit over 100% better than that which confronted Joe when he arrived in 1993. Mr. Ellingham joined Thomson's Wisconsin newspapers in 1996 and was instrumental in grouping the newspapers together when Thomson developed its SMG concept. During his tenure with Thomson, Mr. Ellingham helped develop Wisconsin into Thomson's largest SMG whose margin had grown from the low-20s in 1996 up to over 30% when it was sold in 2000. In his last year with Thomson, Mr. Ellingham also oversaw the creation of a $34 million centralized production facility that was completed on budget while the negotiation of the sale of the SMG was ongoing. Mr. Ellingham received his B.A. from Elizabethtown College and his MBA from the University of Florida.

Prior to being promoted to his current position, Mr. Sample served the Company for 20 years in its Lebanon division as Production Director and a brief period as Publisher of its Miamisburg division.

Prior to joining the company, Ms. Supensky was Controller for Fraser Papers, Dayton, Ohio. She has also held financial management positions with Heidelberg Finishing Systems, Federal Packaging Corporation and Montgomery County. Ms. Supensky received her B.S. in Accounting from Wright State University and is a CPA.

Gary holds a B.B.A. in marketing with minors in finance and accounting from the University of Oklahoma and has attended API sessions for both advertising management executives and classified management.