Akron Beacon Journal publisher to step down

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal announced Tuesday she is stepping down after six years, saying it’s been an honor to have held the position.

Andrea Mathewson will retire at the end of September as publisher of the newspaper and Ohio.com, after becoming the Beacon Journal’s first female publisher on June 7, 2007, the paper reported.

Mathewson, 54, said the decision was hers. She said it was time for a change.

“Upholding the tradition of the Beacon Journal was one of my top goals,” Mathewson told the paper. “I sit in John S. Knight’s office. It has been an honor to be publisher of the Beacon Journal.”

A native of Akron, Mathewson joined the Beacon Journal when she was 18 in her first full-time job out of Springfield High School. She worked in a variety of roles and departments, starting as a classified phone sales representative and working in advertising, the mailroom and production departments.