LINCOLN, Maine — The Lincoln News has a new owner and publisher, will hire a new reporter and broaden its reach on the Internet following the death last month of publisher and editor Kevin Tenggren, its new general manager said Thursday.
Colby Tenggren succeeds her father as owner and publisher of the weekly Katahdin and Lincoln Lakes region newspaper and reporter Chris DeBeck is the newspaper’s acting editor, said David Whalen, the newspaper’s general manager.
The changes should not have much immediate impact on the newspaper’s appearance, Whalen said.
“The News will still be functioning and working on staying solvent and doing good news reporting,” Whalen said.
The body of Tenggren, 46, was found at his home in Lincoln on June 17. He apparently suffered some kind of internal bleeding, Whalen has said.
Tenggren had run the newspaper, which has a circulation of 6,300, since 2005. He succeeded his mother, Sheila Tenggren, who acquired the Lincoln News in 1981 after the death of her fiance.
The News grew under Tenggren’s tenure. He rebuilt the newspaper’s building on West Broadway after a fire destroyed it in 2009 and launched a Katahdin region edition a few years ago to offset that area’s loss of two other weekly newspapers.
Tenggren was an award-winning journalist, capturing a first-place award from the Maine Press Association for his coverage of a downtown fire. He oversaw an editorial staff of three reporters, typically laying out most of the newspaper by himself and writing stories.
The newspaper is looking to hire a reporter, partly to help take some of the workload from DeBeck, the newspaper’s primary news and sports reporter and photographer, Whalen said.
The News will also go beyond its present website, which advertises the newspaper and its full-service printing and design facility, Lincoln News Print Services, but Whalen declined to say exactly how that would happen.
“That’s further down the road,” Whalen said.
The managerial changes occurred in the last few weeks, Whalen said.
The Lincoln News has been around for a long time. People say it is considered the Lincoln area hometown paper and will continue to be so, I’m sure. There’s also a nice area web site that’s a few years old at http://www.WelcomeToLincolnMaine.com. Between the two the Lincoln area is served quite well media wise. The local staff at the Lincoln News is well liked and my one dealing with them was very pleasant. Although the event leading to the present situation is tragic the daughter has a great opportunity here, and the support of the community it seems.
This is great news! I am sure she will make her father very proud!! What a great way to honor him.
The Lincoln News is what a small town newspaper should be. Good luck to all especially Chris DeBeck. Glad to see you doing what you were meant to do.
This is wonderful news, so glad to hear the family will be ongoing in running the paper — best of luck to you!! It broke my heart when I heard the news it had burned, then came the news of the death of Mr Tenggren. I wish the lady the very best and good luck!!! Keep up the good work!!!