Appeal editor to assume leadership of state press association

Nevada Appeal Editor Barry Smith has been named executive director of the Nevada Press Association, the organization's president announced Tuesday.

Smith, editor of the Appeal since 1996, will assume the director position by March 1. He replaces Kent Lauer, who served as director of the press association for 10 years and recently resigned to accept a position in Idaho, according to association president Tony Hughes.

The Nevada Press Association represents 40 member newspapers at the state Legislature on issues such as freedom of the press and open government. It also operates the Nevada Classified Ad Network, a cooperative venture among its members.

Smith, 49, is a 28-year veteran reporter and editor for newspapers in Nevada, Colorado and Illinois. He came to the Appeal shortly after it was purchased by Swift Newspapers, a family-owned newspaper group based in Reno. He and his wife, Jenny, live in Carson City.

"I've seen the important work the Nevada Press Association has done for newspapers and the public over the years, and I'm excited to carry that work forward," said Smith, who was a member of the press association board. "I'm also proud to represent Nevada newspapers, which have been here since the West was settled and now stand at the frontier of a new age of communications."

The Nevada Press Association is located at 102 N. Curry St. in Carson City. Its Web site is www.nevadapress.com.

Hughes is president of the press association's board and publisher of the Mineral County Independent-News in Hawthorne.