Lee P. Webber   Mike Fisch

Webber, 60, replaces Mike Fisch, who becomes president and publisher of the Journal News in Westchester County, N.Y.

The appointments were announced this morning by Sue Clark-Johnson, president of Gannett Co.'s Newspaper Division.

"Mike has worked tirelessly 24-7 to bring The Honolulu Advertiser to a new prominence and a new pre-eminence in Hawaii," Clark-Johnson said. "Lee has all the right qualities for Honolulu: he understands the Pacific better than anyone I know. He has a long record of community involvement and knows the key players in tourism, military and Asia."

Webber joined the Pacific Daily News in 1970 and has been publisher since 1983. He has served on numerous community boards and committees, including the Guam Chamber of Commerce and the Civil Defense Advisory Council/Guam Homeland Security board. He and his wife, June, have two children, Lee II, who is 29, and Marilyn, 15.

"I am excited to be here and to have a team like this in Honolulu and to make sure Mike Fisch's legacy lives on," Webber said. "I am here to learn about the community and am excited by the challenge."

Fisch, 55, came to The Advertiser in 1998 after serving as president and chief executive officer of The Bakersfield Californian for six years.

He began his newspaper career selling advertising in his hometown newspaper while still in high school in Fairmont, Minn. He has also worked at the Marshall (Minn.) Messenger & Independent, Rochester (Minn.) Post-Bulletin, Madison (Wis.) Newspapers Inc., and Hartford (Conn.) Courant.

"Our time in Hawaii has been wonderful and my wife, Nancy, and I will both cherish our memories of the people we have had the honor to meet and work with," he said. "Now we can come back as visitors."