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Movers & Shakers

Independent Newsmedia creates leadership positions

O’Grady takes helm of newsroom; Thornton accepts executive role

Posted 8/19/20

The Daily Independent at YourValley.net has seen its monthly usership quadruple since its debut in October 2019.

Due to tremendous digital growth, the Arizona newsroom welcomed Patrick …

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Movers & Shakers

Independent Newsmedia creates leadership positions

O’Grady takes helm of newsroom; Thornton accepts executive role

Posted

The Daily Independent at YourValley.net has seen its monthly usership quadruple since its debut in October 2019.

Due to tremendous digital growth, the Arizona newsroom welcomed Patrick O’Grady, former managing editor of the Phoenix Business Journal, to take the helm as the group’s managing editor.

Mr. O’Grady is coming full circle in his journalism career, returning to the company he was first employed with as a young journalist. He worked for a couple of newspapers after departing the Independent before landing a job at the PBJ as a reporter for four years before serving nearly eight years as managing editor.

“I’m happy to be back at Independent to work with an outstanding group of journalists who have made it their mission to cut through the media clutter to provide people with information they need to know. The Valley and Arizona are among the fastest-growing places in the country, and I can think of no better place poised to be the go-to source for local news than Independent.”

--- Patrick O'Grady

Mr. O’Grady will focus on news content operations meanwhile longtime Independent team member Terrance Thornton will take on the leadership role of executive editor.

Mr. Thornton worked in several positions at Independent Newsmedia from community news editor in Apache Junction to managing editor of the group. The newly formed executive editor role will focus on brand awareness, digital subscription growth, including story development and presentation, and assist with expansion efforts.

Mr. Thornton looks forward to implementing a digital workflow model that can be sustainable for the local news organization.

“The digital-dissemination model continues to grow at INI. We have a specific process in place, saturation goals and social media influence built into the digital game plan,” Mr. Thornton said of why he is bullish on the future of Independent Newsmedia. “The brilliance of the Independent model is simply being translated into our digital times.”

Arizona Group Publisher Charlene Bisson looks forward to a bright future with the professional background of the two key individuals.

“The collaborative efforts of Terrance and Patrick will take the newsroom of the Daily Independent at YourValley.net to a whole new level of excellence. I’m confident in a year from now, we’ll be able to reflect on the past twelve months and see great accomplishments.”

About Independent Newsmedia

The company has operated in Arizona since 1970 and publishes daily community newspapers at YourValley.net in Anthem, Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, Buckeye, Glendale, Goodyear, Florence, Litchfield Park, Mesa, Peoria, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City, Sun City West, Surprise and Town of Paradise Valley.

Independent Newsmedia also owns Valley Newspapers, a state-of-the-art commercial printing plant. The company is owned by a nonprofit trust and designed to maintain independence. The organization has no shareholders, no dividends are paid, and all after-tax profits are reinvested in its mission of impartial community journalism.