Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien, Archbishop of Baltimore and President of The Cathedral Foundation, announced today that Mr. Christopher Gunty has been hired as Associate Publisher and Editor of The Catholic Review and Chief Executive Officer of the paper’s parent company, The Cathedral Foundation, replacing Mr. Daniel Medinger who resigned in February after leading the paper for more than 20 years.
Mr. Gunty most recently served as Associate Publisher of The Florida Catholic, overseeing operations of the Catholic newspaper of the Archdiocese of Miami and the Dioceses of Orlando, Palm Beach, Pensacola-Tallahassee and Venice. With a total circulation of more than 120,000 people, The Florida Catholic, under Mr. Gunty’s leadership for the past six years, earned more than 25 awards, including the General Excellence Award from the Catholic Press Association (CPA).
“We are very pleased to have someone of Chris’ experience and reputation in the Catholic publishing industry directing the operations of The Catholic Review and The Cathedral Foundation,” Archbishop O’Brien said. “We are especially pleased by Chris’ strong grasp of the industry’s emerging trends and his approach to meeting the demands of a 24-hour news cycle that has changed the media landscape.”
The Catholic Review began as The Catholic Mirror in 1833 and is currently distributed to over 60,000 households, making it the largest paid weekly newspaper in Maryland. It is the centerpiece of The Cathedral Foundation, a Catholic communications company which also manages the weekly English edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Catholic Printing Services, and The Cathedral Press, a growing book publisher.
“In coming to The Catholic Review and The Cathedral Foundation, I hope to use all of the tools available to us today—print, Internet and social media—to spread the Gospel message,” Mr. Gunty said. “I’m excited to be joining the staff of The Catholic Review and its history of excellence in journalism. I am glad to be able to continue my vocation in the Catholic press with Archbishop Edwin O’Brien and the people of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.”
Prior to leading The Florida Catholic, Mr. Gunty founded The Catholic Sun, the diocesan newspaper in Phoenix, Arizona, where he served as Managing Editor and Associate Publisher for 18 years. Under his leadership, the twice-weekly newspaper grew from a circulation of 85,000 in 1985 to more than 116,000 in 2003 and received more than 70 awards. He began his career at The Chicago Catholic in 1981, working his way up from Circulation Manager to Managing Editor during his four year stay at the paper. He received the CPA’s St. Francis de Sales Award for outstanding contributions to Catholic journalism in 2000.
A Chicago-area native, Mr. Gunty is married to Ann Augherton, a Catholic journalist serving as managing editor of the Arlington Catholic Herald in Northern Virginia. Among his volunteer work is service on the boards of directors for Catholic Volunteers in Florida and Bishop Grady Villas, a residence in St. Cloud, Fla., for adults with physical and intellectual challenges. Mr. Gunty has three grown children.
Mr. Gunty begins his new position on July 1, 2009.