Local hires new publisher

Posted 10/25/18

by Pete Mazzaccaro The Chestnut Hill Local hired a new publisher last week. He is John Derr, a veteran newspaper advertising director and manager from Lancaster who is scheduled to begin work this …

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Local hires new publisher

Posted

by Pete Mazzaccaro The Chestnut Hill Local hired a new publisher last week. He is John Derr, a veteran newspaper advertising director and manager from Lancaster who is scheduled to begin work this week. He is replacing Larry Hochberger, who left the paper in September. Derr was chosen by a search committee composed of members of the Chestnut Hill Local board and the Chestnut Hill Community Association. His hire was finalized last Tuesday, Oct. 16, by a unanimous vote of the Chestnut Hill Community Association, which owns the paper. Chestnut Hill Local board president Bob Warner said Derr stood out during the interview process and felt that he was the right person to lead the Local at a time in which revenues have been hurt by declining advertising revenue. “Everyone on our search committee was impressed with John's experience in the newspaper business, his immediate grasp of our financial challenges and his ideas for improving both the paper and our website,” Warner said. Derr, 55, began his newspaper career in 1989 at Montgomery Newspapers as an ad sales representative. Before he left that company in 2000, he was ad director for its 16 weekly papers and thee niche publications. He was most recently vice president of client solutions at Lancaster Newspapers (now called LNP Media Group) where he oversaw advertising and circulation. A native of Sharpsville, Penna, Derr currently lives in Lancaster with his wife, Sue. They have a son, Jonathan, who lives and works in New York City, a son, Thomas, who graduated from high school last year, a daughter, Olivia, who is a senior at Conestoga Valley High School, and a son, Eli, in 8th grade. The new publisher has an ambitious agenda for improving the paper on all fronts and said he hopes to make the publication and its website “indispensable.” “We want to make sure the readers of the paper and the website are informed, enlightened, entertained, or moved,” he said. “We want to make sure our advertisers get results. I understand that a local business advertises to get a return on their investment. We want to make sure more people are subscribing to the Local and that the value of what they are receiving far exceeds what they are paying for their subscription. No matter what is happening in the newspaper industry, I believe that in Chestnut Hill and its surrounding communities, the Local and chestnuthilllocal.com can be at the center of the great things that are already happening and a catalyst for great things to come.” Derr said he recalled the Chestnut Hill Local from his time at Montgomery Newspapers, which operated weekly competitors in Springfield, Glenside and Roxborough. It made the idea of leading the paper an attractive prospect. “I remembered the Local being a great community newspaper with a strong tradition,” he said. “The people I have met throughout the hiring process is another reason. … Everyone cares deeply for the newspaper and wants it to be extremely successful and an important part of the community. The newspaper itself – its tradition its community and the people involved in it – creates a great deal of potential to take it to new heights.” Pete Mazzaccaro can be reached at 215-248-8802 or pete@chestnuthilllocal.com
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