Osteen Publishing Co. names Florida market manager

Hugh Osteen

Hugh Osteen has been promoted to Florida market manager of Osteen Publishing Company. In his new role, he will have oversight of expenses, responsibility to grow online formats and revenue, act as sales coach to the sales team, prospect for new delivery business for Publication Distribution Services and learn the intimate inner workings of the PDS delivery business.  He also will develop and approve vendor relationships and services.

Parks Rogers, regional director for OPC News, LLC, a division of Osteen Publishing Co., said: "Hugh comes well-qualified for the new responsibilities associated with his position, having served in many roles and many locations throughout the company."

Rogers added, "I will be relying on Hugh's background, judgment and commitment as a key Florida executive, on par with our Florida publishers,  as we work as a team to grow the business."

Hugh Osteen started with the company in 2013 at The Las Cruces Bulletin in Las Cruces, N.M., after graduating from Sewanee: The University of the South where he earned a bachelor's degree in environmental science with a focus on policy.

In Las Cruces, he started by writing obituaries and covering New Mexico State University football. Along with reporter duties, he assisted with circulation by contracting newspaper carriers, reviewing and assigning routes, ordering delivery supplies and delivering papers.

In 2014, he moved to The Ponte Vedra Recorder in Ponte Vedra, Fla., as a reporter covering local government, chamber of commerce and charity events, including the Tim Tebow Foundation Celebrity Gala and Golf Classic.

He moved to the Clay Today in Fleming Island, Fla., later in 2014 where he started in advertising sales and later took the role of digital coordinator in 2015 where he led redesign of Clay and Ponte Vedra websites. Both websites have shown exponential growth since the redesign.

In 2016, Osteen was one of eight people to be accepted into SNPA's NEX GEN program. The year-long program offers newspaper professionals with executive potential the opportunity to develop industry, analytical skills and aptitude for innovation by being paired with a mentor from an outside company. Read about his NEX GEN experience

Osteen also is a newlywed. He met his wife Kathleen Catherall Osteen in college and they were married in May of this year.