Star-Telegram welcomes Mote as new pubilsher

FORT WORTH – A veteran newspaper executive with family ties to Texas has been promoted to publisher of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Ryan Mote, vice president of strategic advertising for The Sacramento Bee and McClatchy’s Western region, will start in Fort Worth on Nov. 5, McClatchy, the Star-Telegram’s parent company, announced.
He replaces Sean Burke, who is stepping down to pursue new opportunities.
Mote, 39, has spent the past four years at McClatchy. He started as vice president of advertising at The Sacramento Bee and was promoted to his current position two months ago, overseeing a sales territory across 10 media companies in California, Idaho and Washington state.
Mote has held leadership positions at Freedom Communications and Gannett, where he was named that company’s executive of the year in 2012. He has directed classified advertising, led a Hispanic publication initiative in Arizona and worked with both small and large retailers.
He said he believes his diverse career background has given him perspective to navigate the challenges facing newspapers and retailers as consumers increasingly go online for their news and purchases.
Mote will also serve as the vice president of strategic advertising for McClatchy’s Central region, managing those efforts at the Kansas City Star, Wichita Eagle and Belleville News-Democrat.
Mote grew up in Southern California but has visited Texas every year since childhood, spending summers at his grandparents’ farm in Graham. Mote also has family in Coppell and the region around Graham, and his wife, Katherine, has relatives throughout Texas, with the closest residing in Colleyville. The couple has a 5-year-old daughter.