Andre | Manager, Advertising

Star-Banner — Ocala, Florida

• What was your title when you first joined our Company?
• I started with the Star-Banner in advertising. At that time, the newspaper was in the process of launching several new products–new papers and magazines. I joined a team that was challenged with developing new business for these products. This was a great opportunity for me and, as a result, I moved into a management role that allowed me teach what I had learned to others.
• What brought you to our Company?
• My wife and I decided we wanted to be closer to our families in Florida and the Star-Banner provided that opportunity. Once I arrived I noticed that the newspaper was really committed to employees and families, in a way that my previous employer really hadn’t been. The Company has a good employee benefits program, but it’s more than that. I mean the culture of the newspaper. It’s a commitment that you can feel and it’s very important, because it helps an employee to be successful.
• What makes working at our Company so special?
• This newspaper is like a family to me. I mean it! We’re one big family.We share so much–the ups, the downs. It’s a nice feeling.
• What have you learned working at our Company?
• At our newspaper, there are some of the most impressive leaders that I have had the privilege to meet. These men and women are generous, willing to share their knowledge about the business and mentor others so that the next generation can succeed. Because of these leaders, I have learned a lot, gotten exposure to a variety of challenges and gained inside information about our industry. I don’t believe I could have gotten this kind of leadership anywhere else.

Who we are: Fifteen award-winning daily newspapers and a weekly newspaper, with related print and digital businesses, including Web sites, community magazines, database marketing and cable news. The Group has won four Pulitzer Prizes.

Where we are located:
The Gadsden Times – Gadsden, Alabama
The Tuscaloosa News – Tuscaloosa, Alabama
The Gainesville Sun – Gainesville, Florida
The Ledger – Lakeland, Florida
Star-Banner – Ocala, Florida
Sarasota Herald-Tribune – Sarasota, Florida
Petaluma Argus-Courier – Petaluma, California
North Bay Business Journal – San Francisco, California
The Press Democrat – Santa Rosa, California
The Courier – Houma, Louisiana
Daily Comet – Thibodaux, Louisiana
Times-News – Hendersonville, North Carolina
The Dispatch – Lexington, North Carolina
Star-News – Wilmington, North Carolina
Herald-Journal – Spartanburg, South Carolina
News Chief – Winter Haven, FL