Times Media Co. Publisher Bill Masterson Jr. has been named vice president at Berkshire Hathaway’s BH Media Group and will leave The Times in May, the company announced.
Lisa Daugherty, Times advertising director and general manager of the company’s Crown Point office, has been named interim publisher.
The 52-year-old Masterson said leaving The Times was the most difficult decision he has made in his long newspaper career.
He said the new job will give him the opportunity to be closer to his family and the chance to work for a media company in acquisition mode.
BH Media Group is a fully owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the company founded and headed by famed investor Warren Buffett. BH Media Group bought the 63 newspapers of Media General in May 2012 and has acquired other newspapers since. Berkshire Hathaway also is an investor in Lee Enterprises, the parent company of The Times.
Community projects Masterson spearheaded, such as the building of a new Boys & Girls Club in Gary and the One Region initiative, will continue. Daugherty will take on Masterson’s role in the community.
