Persons

Publishers: At Gannett's News Journal in Wilmington, Del., Howard Griffin has been named president and publisher; previously, he was vice president of national advertising at Philadelphia Media Network Inc. (Inquirer, Daily News, philly.com). Griffin joined the Philadelphia operation in 2003 as vice president of display advertising. Earlier, he was vice president and corporate ad director of Journal Register Co., and before that was an advertising and marketing executive at the Honolulu Newspaper Agency, the Chicago Sun-Times and Southern California's Orange County Register. Griffin replaces W. Curtis Riddle, who is retiring. A 28-year Gannetteer, Riddle started his career in the newsrooms of the Baltimore Sun and The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., and later was a founding journalist at USA Today. He also served as managing editor of the Cincinnati Enquirer and was special assistant to the publisher of the Enquirer. Later he served as publisher of The Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind., and Michigan's Lansing State Journal. For most of the last two decades, Riddle has also been a regional group executive for Gannett as well. ... At McClatchy's Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in Georgia, Rodney Mahone has been named president and publisher; previously, he was the vice president of advertising at the paper, a job he'd held for a little more than a year. Mahone is a Ledger-Enquirer lifer, joining the paper as a part-time circulation zone manager in 1990; a year later he moved to the advertising department, where he rose through the ranks. Mahone replaces Valerie Canepa, who is resigning to return to school and pursue a career in social services; she had been publisher since 2007. Earlier, the 16-year McClatchy veteran was president and publisher of The Herald in Rock Hill, S.C., for four years. Canepa worked as a reporter and editor in Little Rock, Ark., and Rochester, N.Y., before joining McClatchy's Fresno Bee as assistant metro editor. In 2001 she was named director of community publications, overseeing four weeklies in Fresno. ... At the Dawson News & Advertiser in Dawsonville, Ga., Kristen Mangum has been named publisher; she remains editor of the paper, a job she's held for the last two years. Mangum started her career in 2005 as a reporter and photographer at the Northeast Georgian of Cornelia and in 2007 joined the White County News of Cleveland, Ga., covering municipal government, police and fire beats. All the papers are owned by Community Newspapers Inc. of Athens, Ga. ... Online operatives: At Salon.com in San Francisco, Kerry Lauerman has been named editor-in-chief; previously, he was the online magazine's executive editor, a job he'd held for a year. Lauerman has been with Salon since 2000 and has been its Washington bureau chief and founded its Open Salon blog network. Earlier, Lauerman spent a year as a story editor at the New York Times Sunday Magazine and three years as a senior editor at Mother Jones magazine in San Francisco. From 1993-1995 he was managing editor of Forbes ASAP and in 1992 he was a copy editor and reporter at Kentucky's Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer. Lauerman replaces Joan Walsh, who has stepped aside to write a book; Walsh had been EIC since 2005 and had been with Salon since 1998. She will remain a Salon contributor. ... At the Center for Public Integrity in Washington, D.C., John Solomon has been named executive editor; previously, he was the editor in residence, a job he'd held since March. Earlier, Solomon spent a little more than a year as editor of the Washington Times and before that was a reporter for the Washington Post. Earlier still, Solomon had a 20-year career as an investigative reporter for The Associated Press. Also at the center, Sandy Johnson has been named managing editor for politics and government, a new position; previously, she was an executive editor for state news at the AARP Bulletin. Earlier, she was the Washington bureau chief for The Associated Press, a job