CAMARILLO, Ca – The E.W. Scripps Co. and Ventura County Star Publisher Tim Gallagher today jointly announced a new role for Gallagher in the company that also allows him to pursue other business opportunities.

Gallagher will continue to be an employee of Scripps who will work on special assignment as an assistant to Scripps Howard Publishing President Mark Contreras. He will step down as publisher of the Star and begin his own business consulting in the areas of media and management that do not compete with the Star.

“This is a great opportunity for me to continue my 30-year association with Scripps, a company I dearly love, as well as the chance to do some things I have really been wanting to do,” Gallagher said. “I could never thank the folks at Scripps enough for their willingness to work with me and allow this to happen.”

“There are only a very few people in the newspaper industry who have made as deep an impact on a market as Tim has made in the development of our business in Ventura County,’’ said Contreras, who is also Senior Vice President for Scripps Newspaper division.

“Tim's efforts have allowed us to create one of the country's great local media franchises in Ventura and we are very grateful to his tireless dedication and hard work along the way.

“This new arrangement will allow Tim to continue his entrepreneurial interests independently while at the same time helping us in a variety of significant ways.

“We are happy that he will continue his association with the company and I look forward to working with him in his new role,’’ Contreras said.

Contreras said an internal and external search for Gallagher’s replacement will begin immediately.

Gallagher will work on assignments for Contreras, which will allow him to open a consulting business here in Ventura County.

“We love this area and the great opportunities it affords. I have spent 30 years in journalism, most of it as a manager, and I have some ideas and directions to offer companies as a business consultant,” Gallagher said.

Gallagher, 51, began his career with Scripps as a 19-year-old intern at The Albuquerque Tribune. Upon his graduation from the University of New Mexico with degrees in journalism and English in 1978, he joined The Tribune as a reporter. Over the next eight years he rose through the management ranks at The Tribune and the company’s El Paso Herald-Post until he returned to The Albuquerque Tribune in 1986 where he became, at age 30, one of the youngest editors in the country.

He was editor of The Tribune for eight years culminating in the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for national reporting awarded to Tribune reporter Eileen Welsome.

Gallagher took over as editor of the Ventura County Star on Jan. 1, 1995. Together with then-managing editor Joe Howry, they combined the staffs of four formerly separate daily newspapers into one staff.

Gallagher became president of the Star in 2000 and in 2004, he gave up the editor’s title to become publisher.

Earlier this year, the Star moved its headquarters from Ventura to Camarillo on the same property where it has printed the paper since 1998. In mid-July, the Star won the California Newspaper Publishers Association award for general excellence for the second consecutive year.

“I have had the privilege of working with people on the cutting edge in journalism, technology, circulation, advertising, production and general management.

“This journey has been so much fun. Along the way I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of creative, dedicated people. I have also enjoyed serving on dozens of non-profit and advisory boards, which has given me the chance to really know the community in an intimate way. I intend to continue serving the non-profit community in my new role.”

Although newspapers are under unprecedented economic siege, Gallagher said he was confident the Star would not only survive, but thrive, under its new management. “Scripps has a rich tradition of being creative and working its way through difficult circumstances. I am sure the Star will be around to serve the citizens of Ventura County for many, many years.”

Gallagher said he will soon be incorporating his new consulting business. He intends to consult with companies doing strategic growth planning, media relations, and internet business strategies. “This is a major change in my life, but it is a change I am very excited about.”

Gallagher and his wife, Cheryl, live in Somis with four of their six children. They are members of Padre Serra Catholic Church. Gallagher serves on the boards of the Conejo Valley Boys and Girls Club; Mary Health of the Sick; California Lutheran University School of Business; California State University Channel Islands athletic department establishment; Community Memorial Hospital; and the Ventura County Museum.