Hawkins to take over as publisher

Executive Editor William E.N. Hawkins will become editor and publisher of The Post and Courier when Publisher Larry Tarleton retires March 31.

The announcement of the change was made Tuesday by Dan Herres, president of Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group.

"This is a new era for our company, and I think Bill Hawkins is the ideal choice to lead our newspaper at a time of unprecedented innovation and change," Herres said. "His leadership skills and impressive news background match our goal of assuring that The Post and Courier will remain the trusted and dominant source of news and information in the Lowcountry."

As editor and publisher, Hawkins will oversee all operations of the newspaper, Charleston.net and several niche publications. He will become a member of the senior newspaper management team that includes Herres and Vice Presidents Cathy Wilkerson, Mickey Bella and Mike Albin.

Hawkins joined The Post and Courier as executive editor in March 2005, following 17 years at The Herald-Sun in Durham, N.C., where he was executive editor and a vice president. He began his career as a reporter at The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pa., and spent 14 years as a reporter and editor at The Evening Sun in Baltimore.

Under his leadership, The Post and Courier has become known for watchdog reporting and in the past year was the most-honored newspaper in the South, winning numerous major state and national awards for its reporting and writing.

"I am obviously grateful to Larry for bringing me to The Post and Courier and will spend the next three months learning all I can from him," Hawkins said. "And there is a lot to learn.

"I also appreciate the confidence that Dan, our chairman, Pierre Manigault and our local owners have placed in me," Hawkins said. "Our owners share a commitment that we will publish not just the oldest daily newspaper in the South but also the best."

Tarleton said he couldn't be more pleased to have Hawkins succeed him as publisher. "When we hired Bill four years ago, we knew he was the right person to edit this newspaper. Now he is the right choice for publisher. He is a great editor and leader, and I'm confident this newspaper will have even more successful years with him at the helm."

Hawkins, who is the father of grown sons in Phoenix and Flora, Ind., lives in Mount Pleasant with his wife, Diane, who retired after 17 years in sports marketing at the University of North Carolina. They are the proud parents of Longstreet, a lovable old basset hound.

A past president of the North Carolina Press Association, Hawkins is a member of the executive committee of the South Carolina Press Association. He has served on the Advisory Council to the Department of Communication at the College of Charleston and is an elder at Second Presbyterian Church.

Hawkins, who graduated from Cornell University, earned a Bronze Star as an intelligence officer with the 11th Infantry Brigade in Vietnam. He is a life member of the Americal Division Veterans Association.

He is a third generation newspaper editor. His great-grandfather, Charles Hawkins, founded the New Castle Herald in Virginia. His father, Frank, spent a career as a newspaper editor in Georgia, New York and Pennsylvania. He retired as editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and then taught journalism at the University of Georgia.

Having grown up in Pittsburgh, Hawkins is a proud member of the Steelers nation.

Evening Post Publishing Newspaper Group is a wholly owned subsidiary of Charleston-based Evening Post Publishing Co.