THE award-winning boss of Newsquest (North East) - publisher of The Northern Echo - has been honoured by its parent company Gannett, one of the largest publishers in the world.

Managing director David Kelly was selected as one of five finalists in Gannett Corporation's manager of the year awards.

At a ceremony in McLean, Virginia, US, he received a trophy and award for excellence in management based on the Newsquest (North East) performance and the Gannett Corporation's Traits of Leadership. This honours leaders for their management skills, creativity and results.

Presenting the finalists' awards, Douglas H McCorkindale, Gannett chairman, president and chief executive officer, said: "These managers lead, they hire well, they inspire people to do better, they solve problems creatively and they overcome obstacles.

"David has had a terrific year and he has been consistently delivering exceptional results for years. He is strong on teamwork, vision, creativity and commitment."

The award follows Mr Kelly being named Publisher of the Year in Newsquest Media Group.

Newsquest is the second largest regional newspaper publisher in the UK, with more than 300 titles, including 17 daily newspapers.

Gannett, which owns NMG, employs 53,000 people worldwide and its 101 daily newspapers in the US have a circulation of 7.6 million. They include USA Today, the largest-selling daily newspaper in the US, with a circulation of 2.3 million. Gannett also owns non-daily publications and USA Weekend, a 22.7 million-circulation magazine. The company also owns and operates 21 television stations covering 17.9 per cent of the US.

Other Gannett manager of the year finalists were: Roger Ogden, senior vice-president of Gannett Television and president and general manager of KUSA-TV, in Denver, Colorado; Carol Hudler, president and publisher of The News-Press, Fort Myers, Florida; Russell Postell, president and general manager of KXTV-TV in Sacramento, California; and Brooke Spectorsky, president and general manager of WKYC-TV at Cleveland, Ohio.