THE MORNING SUN'S WADE AMONG TOP YOUNG NEWSPAPER PUBLISHERS

VIENNA, Va. - The Morning Sun's Stephen Wade makes the top 20 list of young professionals in the newspaper business, joining an elite group of young achievers profiled every year in Presstime magazine's "20 under 40" issue. Wade, 37, has been publisher of The Morning Sun in Pittsburg, Kan. since 2002.

The annual list recognizes 20 professionals under age 40 representing various disciplines at newspapers across the country. Presstime is the monthly flagship publication of the Newspaper Association of America.

The 20 under 40 are selected by Presstime staff from nominations by senior-level newspaper executives nationwide. Nominations are made in the areas of management, editorial, marketing, circulation, advertising, new media and production. Profiles of each of the 20 appear in the magazine's December issue and online at NAA's Web site.

The annual list recognizes 20 professionals under age 40 representing various disciplines at newspapers across the country. Presstime is the monthly flagship publication of the Newspaper Association of America.

"A newspaper is a dynamic and challenging environment in which to work," said John F. Sturm, NAA president and CEO. "These 20 individuals have excelled in that environment and made their newspapers and our industry stronger as a result. On both the editorial and business sides of the business, they are on the frontier every day of an industry that is at once a time-honored institution of American life and a cutting-edge deliverer of news and information in ever-changing ways."

Wade started his newspaper career in 1993 as electronic darkroom manager at The Topeka (Kan.) Capital-Journal. He served in a number of positions there, working his way up to director of operations by the time he left in 2002 to become publisher of The Morning Sun. Moving from the 59,515 circulation Capital-Journal to the 9,200 circulation Morning Sun called for an adjustment. Without the depth of staff available in Topeka, he has, for example, found himself driving a forklift to unload advertising inserts. His main purpose, however, is to improve the newspaper's quality, develop its staff, increase its media market share and increase circulation. Under his watch, the paper has introduced new products, redesigned the classified section and added more color, all the while emphasizing local content.

NAA is a nonprofit organization representing the $55 billion newspaper industry and more than 2,000 newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. Most NAA members are daily newspapers, accounting for 87 percent of the U.S. daily circulation. Headquartered in Tysons Corner (Vienna, Va.), the Association focuses on six key strategic priorities that affect the newspaper industry collectively: marketing, public policy, diversity, industry development, newspaper operations and readership. Information about NAA and the industry may also be found at the Association's World Wide Web site on the Internet at www.naa.org.