Sound Publishing appoints new president and vice president

Josh O’Connor is the new president and publisher while Terry Ward is the new vice president.

Josh O’Connor was recently appointed to the position of president and publisher of Sound Publishing.

In his new role O’Connor will be responsible for Sound Publishing operations and will continue to be publisher of the Everett Herald. O’Connor joined Sound Publishing in 2007 and was originally the Publisher of the East Sound community newspaper group and was appointed publisher of the Daily Herald in May, 2013.

As vice president of Newspaper Operations for Sound Publishing, O’Connor was responsible for five community newspapers, as well as Sound’s Press and Mailroom operations in Everett. O’Connor joined Sound’s parent company, Black Press Group Ltd., in 1998 in Surrey B.C. as a sales executive and progressed to a series of management roles in Surrey, Richmond and Abbotsford B.C.

He enjoys the challenging dynamics of building successful community publications. He also coaches a commitment to delivering relevant, local news that directly affects the lives of those who raise families and work in the communities that Sound serves. O’Connor is an active contributor to many community organizations throughout the Puget Sound and lives with his family in Issaquah.

In a related move, we are also pleased to announce the appointment of Terry Ward as vice president, Sound Publishing. Ward will continue to be publisher of the Port Angeles Daily News and will oversee Sound’s operations in Kitsap County, Aberdeen and will be responsible for Sound’s soon to be acquired properties in Juneau, Kenai and Homer Alaska.

Ward joined Sound Publishing as group publisher overseeing the Olympic Peninsula News Group in September 2015 and was appointed regional publisher in April 2016, adding Sound Classifieds and the Kitsap News Group to the list of publications he leads for Sound Publishing. He was previously the CEO of KPC Media Group, a regional family-owned media company with 22 publications in Northeast Indiana.

Prior to his time at KPC Media Group, Ward was the director of sales and digital for GateHouse Media’s Community Newspaper Division where he worked in a leadership capacity with publishers, advertising directors, sales managers and their teams.

Ward takes Sound Publishing’s role as a community partner seriously and actively participates in community advancement serving as a board of director for organizations in several Western Washington communities.

Sound Publishing appoints new president and vice president