New Journal publisher named

By Dan Daly, Journal Staff Writer | Friday, November 10, 2006

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RAPID CITY — Lee Enterprises, the parent company of the Rapid City Journal, on Thursday named Rosanne Cheeseman publisher of the Rapid City Journal. She replaces Bill Masterson Jr., who was promoted to publisher of The Times of Northwest Indiana, based in Munster.

Cheeseman, 52, has served as Lee’s vice president of sales and marketing for the past two years at its corporate headquarters in Davenport, Iowa. Previously, she was advertising director and associate publisher of the North County Times, a Lee newspaper serving the Oceanside/Escondido, Calif., area.

She is the 14th person to serve as publisher of the Rapid City Journal since it was founded in 1878.

“I think it’s invigorating,” she said of her new job. “What we do as newspaper people really counts. The paper is part of the fabric of the community, and there’s no better work.”

She gave credit to Masterson for putting the Rapid City Journal in good stead during his six years at the helm. “I’m honored to follow Bill Masterson. We have a solid product in print and online,” she said.

Masterson, 46, has been publisher of the Journal since 2000. Previously, he spent a dozen years as publisher of the Black Hills Pioneer in the Northern Hills. He said Thursday that he leaves the Black Hills with mixed emotions.

“The people I work with at the Journal are the best in the business, and I care about them very much,” Masterson said. “With that said, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity that Lee has given me to operate one of the top five newspapers in our company. I am very excited to work with the team in Northwest Indiana. It is in a highly competitive growth market with a tremendous amount of opportunity.”

The Times of Northwest Indiana has daily circulation of 81,000 and Sunday circulation of 90,000. It’s the fifth-largest of Lee’s 56 daily newspapers.

The Rapid City Journal has daily circulation of more than 29,000 and Sunday circulation of 34,000.

Cheeseman will also oversee the operations of the Journal’s affiliated weekly newspapers — the Lawrence County Journal in Spearfish, the Belle Fourche Post and Bee in Belle Fourche, the Meade County Times-Tribune and Black Hills Press in Sturgis, the Hot Springs Star in Hot Springs, the Valley Irrigator in Newell and the Chadron Record in Chadron, Neb. — as well as related shoppers and specialty publications.

Cheeseman has South Dakota roots. She was born in Huron and graduated from high school in Brookings. She attended South Dakota State University for a year. She has a master of fine arts degree from Idaho State University.

Her publishing career began in 1986 with Edgerton Reporter and Directions Publishing in Wisconsin. In 1995, she joined Insiders Publishing as a regional manager and was promoted to national advertising director. She joined Lee Enterprises in 1998.

She and her husband, James Van Deurzen, will move from Davenport to Rapid City.

“In all her roles in our company, from corporate to field, Rosanne has inspired enthusiasm, creativity and remarkable success,” Greg Veon, Lee vice president for publishing, said. “Over the last two years as our top sales leader, before that as associate publisher and the key advertising executive in Oceanside/Escondido, and before that as Lee’s sales development director, she has helped make Lee an industry leader in driving advertising revenue. Now, we look forward to seeing her work more magic in South Dakota.”

Veon also praised Masterson for his work at the Journal. “Bill’s extensive publishing experience, including his long record of accomplishments in South Dakota, makes him an ideal leader for Lee in Northwest Indiana,” he said.

Masterson’s publishing career began as a carrier at the Daily Oklahoman. He served in various positions at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver, the Colorado Springs (Colo.) Sun and the Manhattan Mercury in Kansas before becoming publisher of the Black Hills Pioneer in 1988 at age 27.

Contact Dan Daly at 394-8421 or dan.daly@rapidcityjournal.com