MISSOURIAN NAMES NEWSPAPER VETERAN LAGE AS PUBLISHER

Wally Lage, general manager of the Paducah Sun newspaper and vice president of newspaper operations for Paducah Newspapers, Inc., has been hired as publisher of the Southeast Missourian newspaper, effective Monday.

The announcement was made Thursday by Gary Rust, owner and current publisher of the Southeast Missourian.

Rust also announced Thursday the management change of Perspective Editor Jon K. Rust to the position of assistant to the publisher.

The elder Rust, who owns newspapers in Kennett, Dexter and Poplar Bluff, as well as Concord Printing Services in Cape Girardeau, will shift attention to other properties, as well as focus on future acquisitions. He remains president of Concord Publishing House, Inc., which owns the Southeast Missourian.

"I'm excited that we were able to attract someone of the caliber of Wally Lage to Cape Girardeau," Gary Rust said. "But then again, this is a dynamic operation in a growing community. It's a great place to be."

As publisher, Lage will have complete responsibility for the newspaper operation, including news, circulation, advertising, production, as well as Concord Printing.

"I feel good about the change, because I am returning to my Missouri roots," Lage said. "Gary and I have known each other for more than two decades and we have a comfortable relationship."

Lage had been with the Paducah newspaper since 1984. During that time, he oversaw the conversion of the Sun from a six-day afternoon daily to a seven-day morning newspaper with full process color presentation.

He also was instrumental in the growth of Paducah Newspapers, Inc., from a single 30,000-circulation daily to four dailies and 13 weeklies in a three-state area.

In 1989, Lage founded Sun Publishing, a subsidiary of the Sun newspaper, which provides print communication services for the specialty-products industry. Currently, Sun Publishing serves this market with more than 25 publications in 17 states.

Fred Paxton, publisher of the Paducah Sun and president of Paducah Newspapers, Inc., had mixed feelings about Lage's departure.

"Wally has been a tremendous benefit to our organization in the nine years that he's been here," Paxton said. "He has brought us to a proud level of professionalism, and he put us on the leading edge not only of technology, but of efficient management. In short, he's all those things you really look for in a manager. I have mixed feelings and am not just sad because he's getting a chance to be a publisher. With his track record of success, Wally deserves that."

Lage is a board member of the national buying group, Publishers Associated to Gain Economy (PAGE). Originally elected by PAGE members in 1989, he was re-elected to another three-year term in 1992. He is chairman of the vendor evaluation committee for PAGE, a non-profit co-op that generated over $60 million in sales last year.

Lage has been a state board member of the Kentucky Council of Economic Education (KCEE) since 1988 and is a regional board member and vice president for KCEE at Murray State University. Until recently he was a board member of Lourdes Hospital in Paducah.

In addition, Lage is a former board member of the Paducah Lions Club, Market House Theater and parish council of St. Thomas More, and he is a Paducah Chamber of Commerce director, currently serving on the strategic planning committee and the "I-66" committee. He is a charter graduate and former trustee of the state-wide Leadership Kentucky program.

Paxton praised Lage's contributions not only to the newspaper, but to the community.

"Wally believes it is very important for the entire community to grow and progress," Paxton said. "He will be very active there in Cape. The community can look forward to that."

Lage received an undergraduate degree in journalism from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, and a master's degree in news-editorial from the University of Missouri School of Journalism in Columbia.

While completing graduate school, Lage began his newspaper career with Winsor Newspapers. He was named daily newspaper publisher of the Winsor-owned Boonville Daily News when he was 25 years old after brief stints as sports editor, editor and assistant publisher.

For the next 15 years, he worked in various capacities for Winsor Newspapers until being hired in Paducah. His last assignment for Winsor was as president and publisher of a multi-zoned, 80,000-free-circulation newspaper in Terre Haute, Ind., which he founded.

Lage grew up on a farm near Jefferson City and was a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He and his wife are celebrating their 26th anniversary this year. They have four children.

The Lages plan to move to Cape Girardeau.