Salina Journal has new publisher

Eager to immerse himself in a community as the leader of a newspaper, M. Olaf Frandsen has taken the editor and publisher's post at the Salina Journal.

He has been the publisher of the McAllen (Texas) Monitor since late 2002, but divided his time as a regional vice president for Freedom Communications, the Monitor's parent company. He oversees five other daily and three weekly newspapers.

Employees in both states were informed Thursday afternoon.

"I relish the opportunity to return to full-time daily newspaper work," said Frandsen, 56.

He is replacing Tom Bell, who has led the Journal for nearly 14 years.

Bell, who gave Frandsen a tour of the Journal on Super Bowl Sunday, assured the Journal's 110 workers that they would enjoy working for their new boss.

"He's authentic, a super guy who is very approachable and intelligent," Bell said.

Involved in newspaper management since the late 1970s in several states, including California, Texas and Arizona, Frandsen was the editor of the Odessa American in 1987 when the newspaper won the Pulitzer Prize for spot news photography. He is a native New Yorker.

He also teaches media law and ethics to journalism students at the University of Texas Pan American, of Edinburg.

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