Dennis Francis

Notable work and positions

Oahu Publications, Inc. - President and Publisher
Honolulu Star-Advertiser - Publisher
Carpenter Media Group - Senior Vice President

Biography

Dennis Francis is president and publisher of Oahu Publications, Inc. and publisher of the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii's largest daily newspaper. Born in Martin, Kentucky, and raised in Dayton, Ohio, he began his newspaper career in 1978 as a district manager for the Daily Advocate in Greenville, Ohio, and rose through circulation-management roles at Harte-Hanks Newspapers in Anderson, South Carolina, and The Washington Times before joining Gannett in 1987. At Gannett, he became vice president of circulation for the Hawaii Newspaper Agency in 1990 and general manager of the agency and later the Honolulu Advertiser in 1998. In June 2004, David Black recruited him to lead the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and MidWeek as president and publisher of Oahu Publications. Francis oversaw the 2010 merger of the Star-Bulletin and the Honolulu Advertiser into the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, and in 2013 Editor & Publisher magazine named him its national Publisher of the Year. Oahu Publications' portfolio under his leadership grew to include The Garden Island on Kauai, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald and West Hawaii Today on the Big Island, and, for a period, the San Francisco Examiner and SF Weekly. Following Black Press's 2024 sale to Carpenter Media Group, Francis continued to lead Oahu Publications while also being named a Carpenter Media Group senior vice president.

Career highlights

• Merger of the Honolulu Star-Bulletin and Honolulu Advertiser 2010 · Created the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, Hawaii's leading daily newspaper.
• Editor & Publisher "Publisher of the Year" 2013 · Named the top newspaper publisher in the United States.
• Ronald McDonald House partnership program Created a newspaper-donation program with McDonald's restaurants that has raised more than $2 million for Ronald McDonald House Charities, later adopted nationally.
• Aloha Council Distinguished Citizen Boy Scouts of America, 2017.