Senior Vice President and Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll has decided to leave The Associated Press at the end of the year.

A search for the next executive editor will begin immediately, starting with the strong talent at AP. A successor is expected to be in place by Jan. 1, 2017.

Carroll, who has led AP's global news operations for 14 years, is announcing her decision now to offer sufficient time for that search.

Former Greensboro (N.C.) editor and publisher Jeff Gauger has been named executive editor of The Times in Shreveport, La., according to Times president Alan English.

Texas Press Association honored Dolph Tillotson with the Frank W. Mayborn Award for Community Leadership on Saturday, June 18.

The Associated Press has announced that Senior Vice President Jessica Bruce will be the new head of Corporate Communications while remaining in charge of Global Human Resources.

Derek May has been named president of Morris Publishing Group, LLC. The announcement was made by William S. Morris IV, president and CEO of Morris Communications, LLC.

GateHouse Media recently named Tom Clifford as vice president of its Center for News & Design in Austin, Texas.

Derek Dunn-Rankin, founder and chairman of the Sun Coast Media Group, which publishes the Sun newspapers, died this past weekend at his home in Venice (one day before his newspaper won its first Pulitzer). He was 88.

Derek Dunn-Rankin was a former SNPA director and trustee, the recipient of the Mayborn Leadership Award, and the father of current SNPA President David Dunn-Rankin.

The company Dunn-Rankin founded has grown to more than 350 employees, and now includes the daily Sun papers in Charlotte, Englewood and North Port, as well as publications in Venice and DeSoto, Highlands and Polk counties, along with printing facilities in Charlotte and Sarasota.

Ricky Mathews, president of Advance Media Southeast, has announced he will transition out of his role as president of NOLA Media Group | The Times-Picayune after completing the search for his successor. Mathews will continue in his role as president of Advance Media Southeast, and will work with Advance Local, the parent of NOLA Media Group, on a number of company-wide initiatives.

Steve Gray has been named vice president of strategy and innovation of Morris Communications Company, it has been announced by William S. Morris IV, CEO. Gray will be responsible for company-wide strategic planning and innovation.

Nate Edwards, the former vice president of sales for The Augusta Chronicle, has been named as the new general manager for the Hattiesburg American.