Heidi Wright, chief operating officer of EO Media Group and publisher of both The Redmond Spokesman and The Bulletin in Bend, was elected president of America’s Newspapers on Monday afternoon during the Senior Leadership Conference in Chicago.

In her remarks to the membership, Wright pointed out that, as an industry, “we are stronger together.” She said that part of building that strength depends on gatherings like the Senior Leadership Conference, where industry executives network, learn and catch up with each other.

“It’s an honor to serve America’s Newspapers in this critical time for journalism and our industry. There is a new energy and support to rebuild community based journalism across the country, and America’s Newspapers is deeply committed to the effort.”

America’s Newspapers is a member organization with over 1,650 members in all 50 states, with a focus on advocacy, research, training and member gatherings.

She said industry executives “also need to talk about what our role is, both collectively and individually. One area, as leaders in our organizations, is to effectively advocate for ourselves with our elected officials.”

She said, “We expect our legacy ad reps to learn digital sales and our reporters to understand audience engagement metrics. It’s our turn to learn and do our part. To build sustainable organizations and stop the drumbeat of ‘we’re dying.’”

“To that end, if I can encourage you to do one thing: It’s get comfortable (if you are not) and good at (if you’re not) with advocating for yourselves with state and federal legislators, and the philanthropic organizations that are trying to help our industry.

“For many of us, we’re used to listening to legislators and nonprofits talk about what they care about when they come to visit our edit boards. We need to step up and ask them to care about us as an industry and a business.”