William Dean Singleton
Innovative, creative, imaginative, and productive best describe William Dean Singleton: vice-chairman, president, and CEO of MediaNews Group, Inc. At age 8, with a dream of being a success, he began his quest by selling mail-order Christmas cards door-to-door. The Graham Leader soon recognized his ambitions and hired him to write news and sports stories. Eventually, he became the paper’s sports reporter and has not been away from a newsroom since then.
Singleton’s love for journalism flourished in college while he worked for The Dallas Morning News. He attracted a lot of attention there, 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. Singleton popularized the word “clustering” as it applies to newspapers—combining operations for newspapers near 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 board member 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 Winter Park Recreational Association board.
Singleton’s love for journalism flourished in college while he worked for The Dallas Morning News. He attracted a lot of attention there, 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. Singleton popularized the word “clustering” as it applies to newspapers—combining operations for newspapers near 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 board member 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 Winter Park Recreational Association board.