The Ventura County Star today announced that Howard Owens, one of the journalist-bloggers linked in the left rail, has been named the daily's director of New Media.

Owens has been an influential part of the New Media team since joining the Star in 1999. As director of New Media, he will be responsible for the overall operation of the Star's Web site, http://www.venturacountystar.com, and will work closely with Alicia Hoffman, online editor, and Kip Wanamaker, online sales manager, in building on the successes achieved over the past four years...

Owens has worked professionally in journalism since 1987. His newspaper experience includes co-publishing a small bi-weekly community newspaper and three years as a reporter and editor at a small daily in San Diego. He has won regional awards for breaking news coverage, feature writing and editorial writing.

The Star has been on a roll. Last fall the paper brought on George Foulsham as its first Assistant Managing Editor for Presentation and Patricia Marroquin as copy desk chief. Both had been editors at the L.A. Times and the Dallas Morning News.

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