Civitas Media CEO Announces He is Stepping Down

Management Succession Process Initiated

DAVIDSON, N.C.--()--Michael Bush, President and CEO of Civitas Media, a leading publisher of community newspapers, announced today that he is stepping down to pursue other opportunities. The Board of Directors has appointed one of its members, Kamal Advani of Versa Capital Management, LLC, to lead the company as Interim CEO during the search for a successor.

“I have served in the community newspaper arena for many years and have enjoyed bringing the Civitas newspapers into an integrated group of newspapers that serve their respective communities well,” Bush stated. “Civitas is well-positioned in its communities thanks to the loyal readers and advertisers, and our dedicated editors and staff.”

Civitas Media Chairman Gregory Segall, CEO of the company’s controlling shareholder Versa Capital, further stated: “Michael Bush led the creation of Civitas Media through the consolidation of Heartland Publications, Ohio Community Media, Impressions Media and certain newspapers from Freedom Central. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant cost synergies by successfully streamlining operations. It also launched new on-line and mobile platforms and introduced a number of creative revenue initiatives. We are extremely grateful to Michael for his efforts in the past few years and wish him the very best as he moves on to his next big challenge.”

The company intends to conduct a CEO search, targeting its conclusion by the first quarter of 2015.

About Civitas Media

Civitas Media encompasses more than 100 publications, many of which have served their communities for more than a century. Civitas, Latin for "community” or "citizen” is a union of four media entities formerly known as Heartland Publications, Freedom Central, Impressions Media and Ohio Community Media. Civitas, which employs more than 1,400 associates across 12 states including North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma and Tennessee, publishes 35 daily, 28 weekend editions and 63 weekly publications for a combined circulation of more than 1.6 million. For further information, please visit Civitasmedia.com.

Contacts

Abernathy MacGregor
Rivian Bell, 213.630.6550
rlb@abmac.com
or
Chuck Dohrenwend, 212.371.5999
cod@abmac.com

Contacts

Abernathy MacGregor
Rivian Bell, 213.630.6550
rlb@abmac.com
or
Chuck Dohrenwend, 212.371.5999
cod@abmac.com