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Burke named editor of Abilene Reporter-News

Oct. 27, 1999
 

CINCINNATI – Terri Burke, managing editor of The Albuquerque Tribune, has been named editor of the Abilene (Texas) Reporter-News effective Nov. 8. Burke, 47, a native of Houston, replaces James H. Denley who recently was named director of new media at The Commercial Appeal in Memphis. All three newspapers are operated by The E.W. Scripps Company.“Terri is an experienced editor with deep Texas roots,” said Alan M. Horton, senior vice president of newspapers for Scripps. “She’s eager to return home to Texas and to help make the Abilene Reporter-News one of the top daily newspapers in Texas.”Burke has been managing editor of The Tribune since 1996, coming to Albuquerque from the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, where she served two years as deputy managing editor. Prior to the American-Statesman, she was an assistant managing editor for the Dallas Morning News from 1992 to 1994.From 1986 to 1992, Burke worked for The Hartford (Conn.) Courant, where she was a reporter, suburban bureau chief, deputy business editor and assistant managing editor. She began her newspaper career in 1976 as a reporter for the Beaumont (Texas) Enterprise and the Galveston (Texas) Daily News.”Terri is uniquely qualified to be the next editor of the Abilene Reporter-News,” said Frank Puckett Jr., president and publisher of the newspaper. “She is a fourth generation Texan who not only understands, but identifies with people in Abilene and West Texas. She has a varied newspaper background well suited for the challenges and opportunities in this marketplace. And, she will be the first woman in our history to lead our news operations – a fitting circumstance as we enter the new millennium.”Burke has been active in professional organizations, serving as the immediate past president of the New Mexico Associated Press Managing Editors association. She has lectured in the journalism department at the University of Texas at Austin and for the American Press Institute. She also served on the board of directors of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.“I am excited by the opportunity to return to my home state to join a newspaper team that is so committed to continuing the growth and development of a newspaper that is already such an essential part of the community,” Burke said.A graduate of Lamar University, Burke also attended the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Houston. She and her husband, Michael Burke, have two daughters, Kelly, 24, and Kate, 19.The E.W. Scripps Company operates 19 daily newspapers; nine network-affiliated television stations; three TV networks, Home & Garden Television, the Food Network and Do it Yourself; and a TV programmer, Scripps Productions. The company also operates United Media, a worldwide syndicator and licensor of news features and comics; the Scripps Howard News Service; and publishes independent Yellow Pages directories. Scripps operates 31 revenue-producing Web sites, including hgtv.com, foodtv.com, diynet.com and comics.com.