10:10 p.m.: THB's Casuscelli takes Mich. job

By Scott Underwood

ANDERSON — Mike Casuscelli, publisher of The Herald Bulletin, is leaving the Anderson newspaper to become publisher of the Record-Eagle in Traverse City, Mich.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Henry Bird, vice president and Midwest Division manager of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., owner of both newspapers.

Bird will replace Casuscelli as publisher of The Herald Bulletin while continuing in his current roles with CNHI. Bird was publisher of The Herald Bulletin from 1992 to 1995.

Casuscelli has been publisher of the Anderson newspaper, which serves the Madison County area, since April 2006.

“Mike is an outstanding newspaper executive and a seasoned professional,” Bird said. “He will be greatly missed here in Anderson. He is an excellent publisher and has a very solid track record of community service wherever he has worked.”

Casuscelli, a 29-year veteran of the newspaper industry, was regional publisher of the Southeast Indiana Newspaper Group — the Greensburg Daily News, the Rushville Republican and the Herald Tribune in Batesville — from May 2002 to April 2006. He previously was the advertising director of the Chronicle-Tribune in Marion for 13 years.

“While I am excited to be going to Traverse City as publisher of the Record-Eagle, I will truly miss the Anderson community and the great staff at The Herald Bulletin,” Casuscelli said. “The community is on an up-tick, and the potential for the community to continue to grow is endless.”

Casuscelli is the chairman of the 2008 Madison County United Way campaign. He also serves on the board of directors of the YMCA of Madison County, the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Health Center, the Leadership Academy of Madison County, and the Ike Weatherly Essay Contest. He is the honorary chairman of the NAACP’s B. Harry Beckham Freedom Fund Award Banquet in Anderson.

Casuscelli, who will continue to maintain a home in Pendleton for the next few months, said Wednesday that he planned to step down from his board positions but that he would continue to be involved in the United Way campaign and the Freedom Fund Banquet, which is scheduled for November.

Dan Sager, chief executive officer of the YMCA of Madison County, said Casuscelli’s willingness to volunteer for leadership roles and his ability to bring out the best in the community would be missed.

“He’s really been supportive and positive in the portrayal of the community in the newspaper,” Sager said. “He’s been able to expose the good side of things in the community without denying the bad things.”

Casuscelli is a native of North Adams, Mass., and a 1979 graduate of Briar Cliff College in Iowa. He and his wife, Janet, have two adult children, Kimberley and Josh.

Bird and his wife, Debbie, have three adult children — Patrick, Griffin and Maggie.

Bird left Anderson in 1995 to become publisher of The Star Press in Muncie and six months later became director of Central Newspapers' Community Newspapers in Indiana. In 2000, Bird was named publisher of the Pantagraph in Bloomington, Ill., and vice president of Pulitzer Newspapers. Bird left that job for his current position with CNHI.

“I’m looking forward to being back working in the Anderson community and running a newspaper again,” Bird said. “As a regional vice president, you get disconnected from the day-to-day operations.”

CNHI is a privately owned company based in Birmingham, Ala., and founded in 1997. The company has grown steadily to become one of the nation’s largest publishers of community newspapers, Web sites and niche publications.

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