William Dean Singleton
Innovative, creative, imaginative and productive best describe William Dean Singleton, vice-chairman, president and CEO of MediaNews Group, Inc. As one of five children of a poor Texas oilfield worker, Singleton understood that he wasn’t going to get anywhere without hard work. At age 8, with a dream of being a success, he began his quest by selling mail order Christmas cards door-to-door. When he was 14, The Graham News hired him to sweep their offices. They soon recognized his ambitions and hired him to write news and sport stories. Eventually he became the paper’s sports reporter and since then has not been away from a newsroom for more than two weeks.
Singleton’s love for journalism flourished in college while he worked for The Dallas Morning News. It was there that he attracted a lot of attention and at the age of 21 he founded a weekly newspaper in the small Texas town of Clarendon. Three years later, he took on the difficult task of saving the failing Fort Worth Press, but unfortunately it was too late. In 1976, together with Joe Allbritton from Allbritton Communications, the pair purchased a collection of small newspapers in New England and New Jersey. Singleton immediately established his reputation as a no-holds-barred corporate executive. It was Singleton who popularized the word “clustering” as it applies to newspapers—the combining of operations for newspapers in close proximity to one another.
In search of a new challenge, Singleton and partner Richard Scudder founded MediaNews Group, Inc. in 1983 to purchase and manage newspaper companies throughout the United States. Today, MediaNews is the publisher of 48 daily newspapers and 94 non-daily publications in thirteen states, ranking it the seventh largest newspaper company in the U.S. MediaNews, with its headquarters in Denver, owns The Denver Post, its flagship and largest paper, of which Singleton is chairman of the board.
Taking pride in community involvement, Singleton is a member of the board and is secretary of the Newspaper Association of America where serves he on several of the board’s committees. He also serves on the boards of the Associated Press, is chairman of the Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center, vice chairman of the National Sports Center for the Disabled and is on the board of the Winter Park Recreational Association.
Singleton, described as “either a savvy businessman who loves newspapers, or an opportunist who’s only in it for the money,” is aware of the different opinions about his business style. He once said, “You can be popular or you can be successful, but you probably can’t be both.” Singleton has worked hard to be both a respected businessperson and run a profitable company. He works hard Monday through Friday, making visits to many of his newspapers throughout the U.S. However, weekends are reserved for family. As a devoted husband to Adrienne Casale and father to their three children, he has never missed a birth, birthday or important family event.
Dean Singleton, who shapes the information we receive and directs the news we read, has fulfilled his dream, and on the way has managed to become good news himself.
Singleton’s love for journalism flourished in college while he worked for The Dallas Morning News. It was there that he attracted a lot of attention and at the age of 21 he founded a weekly newspaper in the small Texas town of Clarendon. Three years later, he took on the difficult task of saving the failing Fort Worth Press, but unfortunately it was too late. In 1976, together with Joe Allbritton from Allbritton Communications, the pair purchased a collection of small newspapers in New England and New Jersey. Singleton immediately established his reputation as a no-holds-barred corporate executive. It was Singleton who popularized the word “clustering” as it applies to newspapers—the combining of operations for newspapers in close proximity to one another.
In search of a new challenge, Singleton and partner Richard Scudder founded MediaNews Group, Inc. in 1983 to purchase and manage newspaper companies throughout the United States. Today, MediaNews is the publisher of 48 daily newspapers and 94 non-daily publications in thirteen states, ranking it the seventh largest newspaper company in the U.S. MediaNews, with its headquarters in Denver, owns The Denver Post, its flagship and largest paper, of which Singleton is chairman of the board.
Taking pride in community involvement, Singleton is a member of the board and is secretary of the Newspaper Association of America where serves he on several of the board’s committees. He also serves on the boards of the Associated Press, is chairman of the Rocky Mountain Multiple Sclerosis Center, vice chairman of the National Sports Center for the Disabled and is on the board of the Winter Park Recreational Association.
Singleton, described as “either a savvy businessman who loves newspapers, or an opportunist who’s only in it for the money,” is aware of the different opinions about his business style. He once said, “You can be popular or you can be successful, but you probably can’t be both.” Singleton has worked hard to be both a respected businessperson and run a profitable company. He works hard Monday through Friday, making visits to many of his newspapers throughout the U.S. However, weekends are reserved for family. As a devoted husband to Adrienne Casale and father to their three children, he has never missed a birth, birthday or important family event.
Dean Singleton, who shapes the information we receive and directs the news we read, has fulfilled his dream, and on the way has managed to become good news himself.
