Veteran newspaper sales-and-leadership veteran Mike Schaefer has been named Current Publishing’s sales manager and already is plying his trade.
He is focused on growth and development for Current and the newspapers of Times-Leader Publications, Current’s sister company.
“We are extremely excited to have Mike on our team,” said Brian Kelly, publisher and president of Current. “I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for his professionalism and his attention to customer service. In addition, Mike has a great knowledge of our industry as demonstrated by his many successes through the years in newspapering and direct-mail advertising. He has a passion for the business that is contagious.”
In college, Schaefer worked at the Indiana Daily Student, Indiana University’s student-run newspaper, and after graduating he stayed on as its sales manager. In the 1990s, he was part owner of a newspaper. After that, he owned a direct-mail franchise for 16 years.
He said he is excited about Current because of the value its publications bring to advertisers and, as a result, readers.
“Our products work really well for our advertisers,” he said. “We’ve got great markets, great products and great employees,” he said. “I think those are ingredients for success.”
While large newspapers are struggling in the increasingly digital news climate, community publications like Current’s continue to thrive.
“The reason we’re different is that we carry hyper-local news,” he said. “We have something no one else has.”
