Ventura County Star names Mark Winkler new president

The Ventura County Star has named a new president, a media executive with a background in sales and marketing.

Mark Winkler is now president of The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, a newspaper in the USA Today Network, along with The Star. He will maintain that position, in addition to being president of The Star.

Winkler, 57, succeeds former publisher Shanna Cannon. His appointment was announced Friday morning.

Winkler brings to the job extensive media experience and passion, said Terry Horne, regional president of the USA Today Network.

"Mark has a track record of success," Horne said. "He's from this part of California, and he's passionate about our mission."

Since Winkler became president of The Desert Sun in 2010, the paper has increased advertising revenue and won numerous awards for investigative journalism.

At The Star, Winkler also plans to focus on investigative reporting, he said Friday.

"We need to be focused on the stories that are important to our customers," he said. "We need to understand our customer base, what our customers want to read about. I want a hard-core investigative news team that knows no bounds."

Readers also can expect more videos, as well as online content that enhances print stories, with The Star capitalizing on advances in technology, he said.

"I can guarantee there will be change," he said.

Winkler said he plans to be active in the community, including talking with advertisers.

"As I'm out in the community here, I may find there's a whole segment of the community we need to address," he said.

Before joining the USA Today Network, Winkler was an executive with other media companies, including MediaNews Group, Comcast and MediaOne. He started his career as a receptionist and worked as a salesperson before becoming an executive.

Winkler earned his bachelor's degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara. He and his wife have five children. He has designed and built nine houses for his family and is also an avid gardener and horse racing fan.