Speakers

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  RICKY MATTHEWS, President, NOLA Media Group

  In May 2012, Ricky Mathews was named president of Nola Media Group overseeing NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune. Upon the retirement of Ashton Phelps in October 2012, he assumed the role as publisher of The Times-Picayune as well.

  Raised in South Mississippi, Ricky has more than 31 years of media experience.

  In August 2009, Ricky was named president of Advance Alabama/Mississippi and assumed oversight responsibility for the Birmingham News and the Huntsville Times, in addition to the Press-Register and Mississippi Press where he served as president and publisher. In Coastal Alabama, Ricky served on the Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and Board of Advisors. He worked closely with former Alabama Governor Bob Riley to form the Coastal Recovery Commission in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and was appointed its chairman. He is a founding member of the Coastal Alabama Leadership Council and served as its chairman.

  Prior to his stint in Alabama, he served as president and publisher of the Sun Herald newspaper. Ricky led the Sun Herald to a Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for Public Service in 2006 as a result of the Sun Herald’s coverage and leadership in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He helped Governor Haley Barbour form the Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal and served as vice-chairman. This plan set the course for Mississippi’s recovery from Hurricane Katrina.

  Ricky serves on the Board of Directors for the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association. He is a New Orleans Museum of Arts Business Council Silver Member and serves as a member of the United Way Board of Trustee and the New Orleans Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Council. In addition to organizing the Mobile/Baldwin Press-Register and Mississippi Press Business Roundtables, Ricky has also organized The Times-Picayune |NOLA.com Southshore and Northshore Roundtables.

  Under Mathews’ leadership, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune has received national recognition for "Louisiana Purchased," the joint investigation by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune and New Orleans Fox network affiliate WVUE into the state's campaign finance practices. The investigation won a national Edward R. Murrow Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association, the national Peabody and Headliner Awards, as well as three regional Murrow Awards.