R-J executive named Ames Tribune publisher

Geoff Schumacher, director of community publications for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, has been named publisher of the Ames Tribune newspaper group in Iowa.

"I am very pleased to be able to name Geoff to this position," said Michael Ferguson, president and CEO of Stephens Media LLC. "His time and his contribution in Las Vegas have made him more than ready for his promotion to publisher of our newest newspaper in Ames."

Schumacher, 45, is a 23-year veteran of the newspaper business, the past 10 for Stephens Media. For the past eight years he has overseen an array of niche publications, including CityLife, El Tiempo, Pahrump Valley Times, Boulder City Review and Mesquite Local News.

"I'm humbled and excited by the opportunity to lead the Ames Tribune and its sister newspapers," Schumacher said. "I'm hopeful that everything I've learned and experienced during my career has prepared me for this. "

Review-Journal Publisher Bob Brown said Schumacher's leadership abilities will serve him well in his new position.

"Geoff is an excellent leader," Brown said. "He is thoughtful and hardworking. He understands that it is the people of any organization who make the difference between success and failure. We are all excited for him and wish him well on this new adventure."

Schumacher came to Stephens Media in 2000, where he founded the Las Vegas Mercury, which ceased publishing when the company acquired rival CityLife. Schumacher has written a weekly public affairs column for the Review-Journal for five years and has authored two Stephens Press books: "Howard Hughes: Power, Paranoia & Palace Intrigue" and "Sun, Sin & Suburbia: An Essential History of Modern Las Vegas."

"Geoff's work with our smaller community publications in Nevada makes him a perfect fit for Ames and its surrounding weekly publications," Ferguson said. "Geoff has also been very involved in our digital news efforts, and we have great plans for delivering our content via all forms of technology to better serve our readers in Iowa."

In December, Stephens Media acquired the Ames Tribune and several smaller Iowa newspapers from Midland Newspapers Inc., a subsidiary of the Omaha World-Herald Co.

Stephens Media is based in Las Vegas and publishes 11 daily newspapers from Hawaii to North Carolina. The company also publishes more than 50 weekly newspapers, eight magazines and multiple websites.