AIM Media Indiana LLC announced Thursday the appointment of Steve Swails as general manager with responsibility across all AIM media properties in Indiana.
The promotion is effective Aug. 1 and Swails will also retain his current position and responsibilities as group circulation director, according to a news release.
The announcement was made jointly by Jeremy L. Halbreich, chairman and CEO, AIM Media Management and Rick Starks, president and COO, AIM Media Management.
In his new role, Swails will continue to be based in Columbus and work closely with all of his associates across AIM Media Indiana, AIM Media Texas, AIM Media Midwest (Ohio) and AIM Media Management to supervise and provide the full range of support services principally for the Indiana publications including circulation and audience development, IT, HR and Building Maintenance while also coordinating closely and supporting news, advertising, graphics and pagination, production and inance & Accounting.
AIM Media Indiana includes the daily publications in Columbus, Franklin, Greenfield and Seymour; weekly publications in Nashville, Pendleton, New Palestine and Fortville-McCordsville; DigitalAIM, the full service, digital agency; a magazine and special publications division; and all affiliated websites and digital assets.
“Steve is a highly experienced, widely respected and seasoned professional in the publishing industry and we are extremely fortunate to have him on our team in Indiana,” Halbreich said. “He brings great energy and enthusiasm to his work, he is an inspiring leader with excellent interpersonal skills, and he is deeply committed to our Indiana organization, to his fellow employees, and to all the communities we serve in Indiana.”
Swails began his career with USA Today in Memphis, Tennessee, and subsequently held a variety of positions with local publications in Marietta, Georgia, Indianapolis, Dubuque, Iowa, and Madison, Wisconsin, before returning to Indianapolis from 1999 to 2005 and again from 2010 to 2022.
In between these last two stints, Swails worked at Home News Enterprises, the predecessor company to AIM Media Indiana, in both Franklin and Columbus, and he joined AIM in 2022. He grew up in Carmel and he is a graduate of the University of Mississippi.
This announcement comes in conjunction with the retirement of Karen Fox-Thompson, the current general manager at AIM Media Indiana, who has worked at the company and at the predecessor company, Home News Enterprises, for more than 34 years.
“While it is very bittersweet to see Karen leave us and while we have been the beneficiary of her strong leadership, dedication and resourcefulness for many years, we are excited for her and we know she looks forward to spending considerably more time with her family,” Halbreich said.
AIM Media Indiana, LLC owns and operates daily and weekly publications, affiliated web sites and a variety of related weekly and specialty publications in Indiana along with DigitalAIM, the Company’s full service digital agency. The company is an affiliate of AIM Media Midwest LLC and AIM Media Texas LLC and all entities are managed by AIM Media Management of Dallas, Texas, where Halbreich serves as chairman and CEO and Rick Starks serves as president and COO.
For information, contact Jeremy L. Halbreich, chairman and CEO, AIM Media Management LLC at 214-697-9779 or [email protected].