Detroit Free Press' Paul Anger named Editor of the Year by National Press Foundation

Paul Anger, editor and publisher of the Gannett-owned Detroit Free Press, has been named winner of the 2009 Benjamin C. Bradlee Editor of the Year Award by the National Press Foundation (NPF).

Judges cited Anger’s contributions to the innovative publishing model in Detroit and noted that it was being developed at the same time the Free Press was pursuing its Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation of former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick – "a great watchdog function of demanding accountability from government.” Detroit Free Press' new publishing model includes newspapers for sale every day, home delivery on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, and emphasis on e-Editions available to subscribers.

"This is a tremendous honor and reflects Paul’s strong leadership in delivering both excellent journalism for our communities and an innovative business model that works,” said Craig Dubow, Gannett chairman, president and chief executive officer. "We could not be more proud of Paul and the entire team in Detroit.”

Anger joined the Detroit Free Press in 2005 as vice president, news and editor. In April 2009, he was named editor and publisher. He joined Gannett in 2002 as vice president and editor of The Des Moines Register after 29 years with The Miami Herald.

In addition to winning its ninth Pulitzer Prize in April, the Free Press and freep.com also won a fourth national Emmy award in September and the Free Press remains the sixth largest Sunday newspaper in the country, moving up in rankings of the largest daily papers after the launch of the new publishing model.

Anger will be honored at the NPF’s annual fund-raising dinner Feb. 16 in Washington, D.C. At the dinner Anger will address the theme of the evening, "Why Journalism Matters.” Also being honored at the awards dinner will be CBS' "60 Minutes" veteran author-journalist Bill Kovach, Brianna Keilar of CNN and Julie Hirschfeld Davis of AP, cartoonist Mike Keefe of the Denver Post, among others. The award carries a $5,000 honorarium and an engraved crystal vase.

The NPF is a non-profit that sponsors conferences and training across the country and abroad in its mission to help journalists "better understand and explain the impact of public policy on readers and viewers."

Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE: GCI) is an international news and information company operating on multiple platforms including the Internet, mobile, newspapers, magazines and TV stations. Gannett is an Internet leader with hundreds of newspaper and TV Web sites; CareerBuilder.com, the nation’s top employment site; USATODAY.com; and more than 80 local MomsLikeMe.com sites. Gannett publishes 84 daily U.S. newspapers, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper, and more than 700 magazines and other non-dailies including USA WEEKEND. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in 19 U.S. markets. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company with 17 daily paid-for titles, more than 200 weekly newspapers, magazines and trade publications, and a network of Web sites.