• by Ray Schultz , July 11, 2022

The Chattanooga Times Free Press has a new president: Alton Brown, formerly regional publisher for Lee Enterprises in North Carolina. 

Brown will head operations of the Chattanooga Publishing Co., including online, newspaper and magazine publishing in Chattanooga. 

Mark Lane, president of owner WEHCO Media's newspaper division, had temporarily headed the Times Free Press following the resignation of former newspaper President Jeff DeLoach in March. 

In addition to the city itself, the big attraction for Brown was “the core values of this newspaper and the commitment and dedication to quality journalism,” Brown states. “To give the news fair and impartially is very important to me, and I look forward to working with everyone here to continue that tradition."

Since his start in a newspaper mailroom at age 14, Brown has had a long career in publishing, including a five-year stint as publisher of The Winston-Salem Journal. He has also served as advertising vice president and general manager of the Akron Beacon Journal in Ohio, and as sales vice president for The Tribune in Scottsdale, Arizona.