Former Coastal Courier publisher Randy Morton, who has been publisher of the Statesboro Herald since 1995, has been named publisher of the Santa Clarita Signal in Santa Clarita, Calif.
The Signal and the Statesboro Herald are both owned by Morris Newspaper Corporation, the parent company that is headquartered in Savannah.
The announcement was made Monday by Charles H. Morris, who is chairman and CEO of Morris Newspaper Corporation and its parent, Morris Multimedia, Inc.
Herald executive editor Jim Healy was named operations manager in Statesboro and will assume Morton's duties immediately.
"I'm happy that Randy has accepted this new assignment," Morris said. "He has been a very progressive and successful publisher, and through his leadership, successfully navigated the Herald into the multimedia world that we know today. I am confident that he will continue to make significant contributions to our media company as we work to be more innovative in taking our operations to the next level."
The Signal, owned by Morris since 1978, is a seven-day daily serving the Santa Clarita Valley in north Los Angeles County. The Statesboro Herald, a six-day daily serving Bulloch and four other surrounding counties, was purchased by Morris in 1970.
Morton said: "I will miss working with the Herald staff and the many friends we've made over the years. My roots have always been in Bulloch County. However, I'm excited about this new opportunity and look forward to continuing my work at the Signal with the objective of continuing its transformation into a cutting edge information provider that delivers cutting edge value for its audience and advertisers. I know that with Jim Healy in charge, the Herald will be in good hands. I have great confidence that he will continue our efforts as a leader in multimedia news."
Healy joined the Herald as executive editor in 2002 and has spent his career in journalism. He will report to Joe McGlamery, regional vice president for Morris Newspaper Corporation and president of the Statesboro Herald.
Morton joined Morris Newspaper Corporation as an advertising executive with the Statesboro Herald in 1973 and held positions of farm editor, advertising manager, marketing director and general manager before moving to Hinesville as publisher in 1984.
In Hinesville, he was in charge of the twice weekly Coastal Courier, the weekly Tri County and Pineland Pennysavers and the Patriot military newspaper under contract with Fort Stewart and Hunter Army Airfield.
In 1995, Morton returned to Statesboro as publisher of the daily Statesboro Herald. Since that time, Morton has been instrumental in growing multimedia audience using a combination of print, online and mobile applications.
The Statesboro Herald has won first place in General Excellence in the Georgia Press Association competition the last two years in a row. In recent years, StatesboroHerald.com has been judged the best website by the Georgia Press Association, the Inland Press Association and the National Newspaper Association.
Morton has a master's degree from Georgia Southern University. He and his wife Patricia have two adult children, Brannen and Kimberly, and a grandson, Emory. Patricia Morton has taught at Bradwell Institute in Hinesville.
Morris Newspaper Corporation is a subsidiary of Morris Multimedia, a privately owned media company with properties in nine states in the U.S. and the Caribbean.