20 Under 40 - 2006 Profile: Kirk Fisher

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 2006

Operations Director and Business Manager | The Advocate in Baton Rouge

Although Kirk Fisher has been in the newspaper business only since 1999, he has been around The Advocate in Baton Rouge his entire life.

His mother, Dianne Lively Manship, worked at the paper for 40 years as an administrative assistant to Doug Manship Sr., the paper's former publisher. Fisher recalls doing his homework in the lobby after school and hearing the presses start.

So when Doug Manship Jr., the paper's publisher and Fisher's stepfather, asked him to leave the insurance industry and work for The Advocate, Fisher couldn't refuse.

Despite his family connections, Fisher, 35, has had to work his way up the company ladder. "He wanted me to understand the fundamentals of putting ink on paper," Fisher says.

From his start in the pressroom, Fisher joined the advertising department, where he moved sales reps from a salary-based compensation structure to commission. Fisher's next stop was the circulation department, where he helped set up new distribution centers.

But just as the new centers opened for business last year, Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. Baton Rouge quickly saw an influx of about 150,000 people, and The Advocate's circulation increased between 7,000 and 12,000, depending on the day of the week, Fisher says.

Meanwhile, The Advocate began construction of a $70 million production plant. Fisher led the negotiations for all mailroom equipment and participated in negotiations for a new MAN Roland Regioman press, Manship says. The plant went live Nov. 5.

Manship credits Fisher with getting the equipment for the company at the lowest possible price. "It's safe to say Kirk's negotiating skills saved the company at least 5 to 6 percent," Manship says.

Three weeks before the press's first unit was to arrive in spring 2006, Fisher discovered he had a brain tumor and needed immediate surgery to prevent permanent blindness, or possibly death. The tumor was benign, and Fisher is proud to say he was at the new facility when the equipment arrived.

"This year has been full of challenges, both personal and professional," Fisher says.

Kirk Fisher
Business Manager and Operations Director
The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La.

Q: In what ways do you think your current position will change over the next five years?
I don't think my position will change in terms of responsibility. Most of the changes I will see are in the strategic direction of our company. We have just launched our new production facility. The new technology will give us a leveraged advantage in our market. For the past five years I have focused on positioning our company for the future. I look forward to the next five to continue to grow and diversify.

What's the best career advice anyone ever gave you?
For newspapers to survive, we must reach outside our comfort zones. Question everything and run your business as it should be run, not as it has always been run.

What three things would you change about the newspaper industry?

• More family ownership.
• I would like to see the newspaper industry not be so focused on the profits. This may sound crazy, but readers do not see value in a newspaper with a 70 percent to 30 percent ad-to-news ratio. I feel many of the problems newspapers are having, such as declining circulation, can be linked to a lack of focus on news.
• Change the public perception of political bias. Several scandals have tarnished the newspaper industry over the past several years. Our industry was built on the trust of our readers. Once the trust of our readers is gone, we have nothing.