Frank Deaner—The Future of Newspapers Frank Deaner provides insights on the future of the news product and the business of newspaper in coming years. In this age of the Internet and expanding digital applications, the “paper aspect of newspapers is fading away. Mr. Deaner served as executive director of The Ohio Newspaper Association (ONA) from November 1990 until his retirement on Dec. 31, 2010. ONA is the trade association representing more than 200 daily and weekly newspapers in Ohio and an additional 150 newspaper websites. Mr. Deaner was previously vice president of the Ohio Electric Utility Institute which he had joined in 1982. At ONA, Mr. Deaner’s responsibilities included oversight of Ohio Newspaper Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary that sells newspaper advertising as “AdOhio,” and The Ohio Newspapers Foundation. He served as secretary to the ONA board of trustees and president of The Ohio Coalition for Open Government, a freedom of information coalition that monitors public access to government. Mr. Deaner was also the registered lobbyist for ONA and a spokesman for the newspaper business. He currently serves as a consultant in the areas of government and public relations, advertising and marketing. From 1979 to 1982, Mr. Deaner was news coordinator at WBNS-TV, Columbus. His fifteen years of experience as a broadcast executive included news, sales promotion, and public relations positions with television & radio stations in many cities. Mr. Deaner received his B.S. degree in journalism (summa cum laude) from Ohio University and an M.S. degree from the Newhouse School of Communications at Syracuse University.
