NENPA hires executive director

From the inbox:
The New England Newspaper and Press Association, the trade group comprising 460 daily and weekly newspapers across six states, today announced the hiring of its first executive director: a 30-year newspaper veteran with nationwide experience in advertising, circulation, strategic planning, and consulting to the newspaper industry.

Dan Cotter began his duties Monday, March 8, at NENPA's offices on the Northeastern University campus in Dedham, Mass. He succeeds Morley Piper and Brenda Reed, who had each led their respective news associations before the two groups merged last summer to form NENPA. Reed had also continued as interim head of NENPA for eight months while NENPA searched for a leader of the new, combined organization.
That wide-ranging search led NENPA to select Cotter, who most recently served for almost 10 years as the head of one of the newspaper industry's top research and consulting firms. As chief operating officer of Sharon, Mass.-based Urban and Associates, Cotter worked with a wide range of newspapers throughout the United States, Canada, and Latin America, helping them to develop strategies for increasing audience and advertising market share.
The selection highlights the importance NENPA is placing on helping its member newspapers to find new sources of revenue and to develop imaginative print-and-Internet strategies during an economically challenging period for the industry. Click here for the entire press release.