September 2022
Towns promoted to lead news, talent for Gannett
September 30, 2022 (New York, New York) — Hollis R. Towns has been promoted to vice president of news and talent for the USA TODAY Network, reporting to Nicole Carroll, president of the news and editor-in-chief of USA TODAY. In this role, Hollis will oversee talent recruitment and retention, Network ethics and standards, training, culture, the annual diversity audit and other initiatives that serve our communities and move our newsrooms forward.
Hollis has been the No. 2 editor in Network local news since late 2020, where he has overseen several regions and large projects. Hollis began his career with Gannett in 2004 as managing editor of The Cincinnati Enquirer. He was later promoted to executive editor before leaving Ohio in 2008 to lead the Asbury Park Press. His first job after college was as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where he covered civil rights icons and the 1996 Olympic Games.
January 2022
Keeping DEI Front and Center
I AM A CHAMPION for diversity and inclusion and a successful investigative journalist who lives for great storytelling.
My title may be vice president of local news initiatives and regional editor, but here’s what I do best: I transform newsrooms in ways that matter—ways that lead to measurable growth in audience engagement and revenue across digital and print platforms. I oversee five regions, including more than 50 daily news operations, 100+ weeklies, five magazines, and more than 500 journalists across seven states. Together, they comprise Gannett’s largest concentrations of newsrooms in the world’s #1 media market.
My job is to set vision and execute strategy, working with a set of highly talented editors who oversee daily operations. From investigations to community involvement, my job carries me to different places with different challenges each and every day. I love what I do.
Until recently, I was executive editor and VP of news for the Asbury Park Press, which I joined in 2008. Previously, I was managing editor and later executive editors/news at the Cincinnati Enquirer, as well as managing editor at the Kalamazoo (Mich.) Gazette. My career began at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in my native Georgia.
I grew up in public housing in a small town in Georgia. I picked peaches in summers, played high school football on Friday nights, and later as a linebacker for my alma mater, Fort Valley State University. From there, several national internships paved the way for my career in journalism.