20 Under 40 - 1999 Profile: Lorenzo Vigliante

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 1999

When Belo asked Lorenzo Vigliante to be circulation director at the Bryan-College Station (Texas) Eagle, he wasn't allowed to tell anyone—even his new boss.

The offer came just before Belo announced its purchase of the paper in November 1996. Publisher Donnis Baggett received his offer at the same time. Both worked at Belo's The Dallas Morning News; both were told to keep it to themselves until the company made the news known.

The pairing worked. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations Fas-Fax through March 31, the Bryan-College Station Eagle had registered three years of circulation growth, totaling a 13 percent gain daily and 5.8 percent Sundays. Publisher Baggett cites Vigliante's "vigor and enthusiasm" for the success.

His secrets? Work the basics. Get a good staff; create more, smaller routes, capable of growth; hire a good telemarketing company and a good door-to-door sales crew; and work hard to shift single-copy buyers toward home delivery.

Vigliante also converted his single-copy operation from employee bundle droppers to independent contractors with a vested interest in selling the paper; upgraded the NIE position from part- to full-time; and realigned routes by ZIP code, allowing better advertiser targeting.

It doesn't hurt that 43,000 Texas A&M students lay in wait as potential subscribers. They represent the "hardest market to crack" and Vigliante's biggest challenge, but he says that he attracts more of those valuable young readers every year.

His love? Newspapers. His passion? The Dallas Cowboys. Last year his staff superimposed his face on the body of Troy Aikman and presented him with his most prized possession—a picture of him as the famed quarterback.

Education: 1990-92, studied business administration at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio.
Career: 1977-84, assistant district manager, district sales manager, El Paso Times and El Paso Herald-Post; 1984-93, a.m. district manager, a.m. zone manager, city home-delivery manager, state-circulation manager, suburban home-delivery manager, San Antonio Light; 1993-95, circulation zone manager, home-delivery sales manager, The Dallas Morning News; 1996-present, circulation director, Bryan-College Station (Texas) Eagle.
Personal: Age, 39. Born, El Paso. Married, wife Isabel, one son.
Diversions: Watching and playing sports, collecting Dallas Cowboys items, and old cars.
Connections: The Bryan-College Station Eagle, Box 3000, Bryan, Texas 77805. E-mail, lvigliante@ theeagle.com; phone, (409) 776-4444, ext. 508; fax, (409) 774-0496.