News Release

Universal Press Syndicate President to Retire

Kansas City, MO  (04/20/2006)  Robert E. Duffy, president of Universal Press Syndicate since February 2000 and long-time veteran of the newspaper syndicate business, will be retiring as of June 30, 2006. Lee Salem will assume the role of president upon Duffy’s retirement, while retaining his current role of editor of Universal Press Syndicate.

Andrews McMeel Universal (AMU) board of directors announced the changes today (Thursday, April 20) after its regularly scheduled meeting yesterday (April 19) in Kansas City. This is the second major management change that the board has announced in the past six years. Both Duffy and Salem received promotions in February 2000 when Duffy took over the position of president of Universal Press Syndicate from John McMeel who had held the title for 25 years. Salem became executive vice president and the first editor of Universal Press Syndicate since James Andrews’ death in 1980.

Both men are seasoned veterans of the industry and early principals of Universal Press Syndicate. Duffy, age 60, has been with the company for 30 years and Salem, age 59, for 32 years. Duffy will continue to serve on the AMU board of directors of which he has been a member since December 2001 and will be actively involved with stratgic positioning and other issues.

“The imprint that Bob Duffy leaves on this company is deeply engraved in our hearts and our history,” says John McMeel, chairman and president of AMU. “And the leadership Lee Salem provides us will continue to echo through future generations.”

“Bob Duffy has made a lasting impression on the newspaper syndication industry with his innovative ideas about what syndicates should be bringing to the table to help newspapers fulfill their editorial and financial goals,” says Hugh Andrews, executive vice president of AMU. “And he has done that hand-in-hand with Lee Salem. Fortunately for us, we expect a seamless transition.”

Before becoming president, Duffy was vice president of sales and director of new media for Universal Press Syndicate. He started out as sales manager with Universal Press in 1976, was promoted to national sales director of Universal Press in 1980 and to vice president of sales in 1984. In 1996, he was also named director of Universal New Media, AMU's interactive division.

Under his leadership, the syndicate sales division experienced tremendous growth, selling and servicing a client newspaper list that started as a few hundred in the United States and grew to more than 3,500 worldwide. Duffy helped to launch the company's first internal international division in Amsterdam in 1994 and was instrumental is the acquisition of Atlantic Syndication in January 2004 from the Evening Post Publishing Company of Charleston, S.C. Atlantic Syndication, an international syndication company formerly known as Editors Press Service, operates as a wholly-owned agency of Universal Press and maintains an Asia-Pacific office in Sydney, Australia.

In 1996, AMU formed its highly successful Universal New Media, which Duffy directed. Now a separate division of AMU and renamed “uclick,” it is an industry leader in wireless content service and distribution.

“Even in these challenging times for newspapers, under Bob’s leadership the syndicate has continued to grow. His legacy as president will be remembered for many breakthroughs, not the least of which has been expanding what a newspaper syndicate does and reaching outside the traditional services and products,” says McMeel, pointing to unique ventures such as the Spanish language publication “Fronteras” and the innovative package of weather content from Weather Central. “Most recently under his leadership, we have seen the creation of a partnership with iMedia, a true convergence of print and digital come alive for newspapers.”

Salem says he will continue increasing syndicate products beyond the traditional, while shoring up the conventional comic strips and text features that have made the syndicate the industry leader it is today.

Before his promotion to editor, Salem had been vice president and editorial director of the syndicate since 1981. He joined Universal Press Syndicate in 1974 as assistant editor and became managing editor in 1980. Salem enjoys a high profile in the newspaper and syndication industry; he is a member of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, American Association of Sunday & Feature Editors, National Cartoonists Society and a former board member of the United Minority Media Association.

Salem personally edited Garry Trudeau's "Doonesbury" for more than 20 years of his career at Universal Press. Under his guidance, Universal has launched blockbuster strips and features such as “FoxTrot,” “The Boondocks," as well as the classic "Calvin and Hobbes" and "Cathy." He has also shepherded the development of popular strips such as "For Better or For Worse" and "The Far Side.”

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Contact(s): Kathie Kerr

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