Shaun O’L. Higgins is Director of Sales & Marketing for The Spokesman-Review and president and chief operating officer of its sister company, New Media Ventures, Inc. In addition to his revenue duties with The Spokesman-Review, Higgins serves as company spokesperson and manages research, community-affairs and media-relations functions.

A former reporter and editor, Higgins has headed the revenue-producing departments of Spokane’s daily newspaper for nearly 20 years. Among his industry involvements, he is a former director and current executive member of the World Association of Newspapers. He is a past president and current director of the International Newspaper Marketing Association, and a recipient of that organization’s highest honor, the Silver Shovel. Higgins is former president of the Spokane Advertising Federation and one of only five people to have been honored with its Lifetime Achievement Award. He served on the original board committees for new media and “horizon watching” for the Newspaper Association of America (NAA), and for eight years headed NAA’s National Political Advertising Task Force.

Higgins' newspaper career began on the editorial side of the business. He worked as a reporter and editor for newspapers in Indiana, Virginia, Montana and Spokane before shifting to the business side of The Spokesman-Review in 1983. He has written a number of books dealing with management, marketing and newspapers, including The Newspaper in Art, Press Gallery: The Newspaper in Modern and Post-Modern Art, Movies for Leaders, Movies for Business, and Leadership Lessons of Elizabeth I.

Higgins’ other affiliations and memberships include, among others, the National Association of Business Economists, the American Mathematical Association, The World Future Society, The American Statistical Association, Public Relations Society of America and the Society of Professional Journalists. He currently serves on the board of the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, the advisory board of the Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media, the Spokane Mayor’s Council for Economic Policy and Forecasting, and chairs the “Ideation” committee for Greater Spokane, Inc.

A graduate of DePauw University, Higgins is a frequent speaker on topics relating to media, marketing, management and regional economics. He has addressed professional audiences in 24 countries on six continents.