Block papers get new VP of operations

Will oversee operations of Post-Gazette, Blade

Kurt G. Franck has been named vice president of newspaper operations for Block Communications Inc.

The promotion of Mr. Franck, the president, general manager and executive editor of The Blade of Toledo, Ohio, was announced Wednesday by Allan Block, chairman of Block Communications.

Mr. Franck, 62, will continue to be based in Toledo and will oversee operations for both The Blade and its sister newspaper, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Lisa Hurm remains vice president and general manager of the Post-Gazette.

“We need to have our newspapers coordinate better than they have recently, and he was the natural choice to be in an oversight role over the business side of our newspapers,” Mr. Block said. “This is because of the capability he has shown me and the need that we have.”

Mr. Block said it is especially important to have a business leader to oversee both The Blade and the Post-Gazette during a time when both

newspapers have launched new digital initiatives, such as Blade NewsSlide and PG NewsSlide. He said Mr. Franck earned the opportunity to take on the new role.

“He’s been strong, he’s been steady, he’s had ideas,” Mr. Block said. “He’s been determined, and he’s showed very superior management skills.”

Mr. Franck began working at The Blade in September 2000 as managing editor of the newspaper. Before joining The Blade, he was deputy managing editor and executive news editor at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He spent 16 years at the Sun-Sentinel involved in editing positions and in the design of the news sections.

Before his time at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, he spent six years at United Press International. He worked at bureaus in Columbus, Ohio; Atlanta; Birmingham, Ala.; and Orlando, Fla., where he covered the Kennedy Space Center.

He also was UPI’s Florida editor and Miami bureau manager.

Mr. Franck is a Newark, Ohio, native and a graduate of the Kiski School in Saltsburg, Indiana County, and Bethany College in Bethany, W.Va.