Peter Newton was a huge part of GateHouse Media’s expansion into the digital service sector with the launch of their Propel and ThriveHive initiatives. But Newton was a big part of driving the entire industry into selling more than just advertising solutions to their customers. It was during those six years in senior management that the company had its most growth in market acquisitions. Now that Newton has left the country’s largest newspaper company, he continues to work within our industry consulting some of our digital partners as well as leading a drive to innovation through the Local Media Association’s Accelerate Local Project.

 Mike Blinder goes one-on-one with Newton as the former GateHouse COO speaks about where he thinks the industry has been and where it is going today in our challenging times. He also gives advice to independent newspapers who lack some of the resources that large company company ownership can provide.