Mark Ficarra named publisher of Las Vegas Review-Journal

Mark Ficarra, chief revenue officer for Stephens Media, on Monday was named publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal by Ed Moss, chief executive officer.

Moss, who has held the dual roles of CEO and publisher of the RJ since November, will continue as CEO of Stephens Media.

“Mark is the perfect person for this position,” said Moss. “The RJ is the flagship of Stephens Media, and Mark has put together a foundation in sales and marketing in Las Vegas that we can build on. He has developed an exceptional sales and marketing team, one that is committed to serving the needs of our advertisers in both digital and print.”

Ficarra, 63, has served as the chief revenue officer for Stephens and the RJ since January where he has overseen all revenue and marketing activities at the Review-Journal and the other Stephens Media properties throughout the country. He will continue in that role.

“I’m honored to be named publisher,” said Ficarra. “We’ve built a lot of momentum in Las Vegas. We’re winning on the advertising side, we’re winning in circulation, we’re winning in editorial and we’re growing our online offerings significantly.”

Before joining the RJ and Stephens Media in January, Ficarra served as regional vice president of sales and marketing for the Denver Post and 26 other newspapers for Digital First Media in Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. Previously, Ficarra served as vice president of sales and marketing for the San Diego Union-Tribune. He also served as publisher of daily newspapers in Long Beach, Calif., and Torrance.

In all, Ficarra has more than two decades of experience in top management of daily and weekly newspapers and direct mail.

He has served as vice president of advertising for the East Valley Tribune in Phoenix and general manager of Arizona Clipper Magazine, also in Phoenix. Ficarra also has held executive sales positions with Cox Communications, Thomson Newspapers and Freedom Communications.

Ficarra also has worked as a media consultant, working with companies like Cox Communications, Black Press and Media General.

Ficarra, who lives in Summerlin, is a member of the board of directors of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.

“Mark is committed to taking an active role in the Las Vegas community, which is essential,” said Moss.

Ficarra and his wife, Laurie, have two grown sons, Phillip of Phoenix and Joshua of Los Angeles, and three grandchildren.

Stephens Media publishes 11 daily newspapers, 64 weekly newspapers and more than 100 websites operating in nine states.