InkBlots

Lauren Devereaux has been named the new advertising director of the McComb Enteprise-Journal. She succeeds Debbie Best who left the paper earlier this year to return to real estate…Paul Keane has returned to the Wayne County News as publisher after departing in 2006 for another business venture. He succeeds his own successor, Lee Peacock, who is returning to Alabama…Brad Lackey has been named executive vice president and group ublisher of Suburban Community Newspapers in Memphis, which owns the Southern Sentinel in Ripley, Southern Advocate in Ashland and the Southaven Press. He previously was associate publisher for The DeSoto Appeal.

The Mississippi Press editorial board opines on the Lieutenant Governor’s race.

Writes the Delta Democrat Times in a recent editorial: “We feel like we have given Gov. Haley Barbour every opportunity to speak to the problems of the Mississippi Delta. Yet, he continues to turn a cold shoulder to us, insisting on giving his concentration to other parts of the state.”

A reader of the Delta Democrat Times in Greenville thinks sports editor Troy Treasure is a real gem.

It wasn’t in our contest or even for work in our state, but it should be pointed out that Oxford Eagle reporter Alyssa Schnugg was recently honored with an award for deadline reporting at her former newspaper by the Florida Society of Newspaper Editors.

Writes Dr. Samir Husni on his Mr. Magazine blog: “I just returned from an excellent three-day Mississippi Press Association’s Annual Convention and was encouraged more than ever about the future of the printed newspaper. Some of the high-powered speakers talked about the on-line newspapers and the transition from the traditional media to the new media.”

From The Sun Herald: “Mark Mulholland, associate director of the American Press Institute, offered no “silver bullet” to combat a steady decline in newspaper circulation and advertising, but he talked to Mississippi Press Association members at their annual convention about a project designed to help newspapers innovate, diversify and transform so they can capture new markets.”

From The Sun Herald: “Longtime Mississippi Press Association Director Carolyn Wilson helped save the organization from bankruptcy, and under her leadership the group prospered financially and otherwise.”

From The Sun Herald: “Scribes from around the state gathered Saturday to hear about the future of news from a print and online guru, and learned even the smallest papers can thrive in the digital age.”

The Associated Press reports on top winners at Saturday’s BNC awards, including prizes for reporting, photography, community service and general excellence.