About Brian Steffens

As director of communications, Steffens oversees the conversations with and among the various constituents and audiences of RJI. These include RJI’s resource rich website, rjionline.org; content and conversations within and around events that serve industry professionals and the citizens they serve; the sharing of robust industry research and insights on how best to utilize the information; and connecting people, ideas and opportunities through his years of serial networking.

Brian Steffens is a veteran communicator with executive-level experience in newspapers, magazines, digital media, public relations and news association management.  For more than four decades, he’s led change and innovation in photojournalism, color, typography, design, packaging and editing, information graphics, new media/digital initiatives, new product development and new business models.

Steffens was previously executive director of the National Newspaper Association (NNA), an industry organization of 2,000 newspapers that he led for eight years. Earlier at the Missouri School of Journalism, Steffens was associate director of the New Directions for News (NDN), a leading industry think tank.

At NNA Steffens kick-started digital offerings including a total overhaul of its website (twice), creation of an online-accessible best practices database, members-helping-members forums, industry blogs, and a weekly e-mail e-newsletter targeted for community newspaper management.

Earlier Steffens was senior vice president and editor of the Editor & Publisher Company, where he repositioned the magazine and its website; and editor of Quill magazine, published by the Society of Professional Journalists. He also worked for more than two decades in the newspaper industry, including leadership positions at the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union, Orange County (Calif.) Register, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Miami Herald and Detroit News.

Steffens served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Giles Communications of Westchester, N.Y., a leading public relations firm serving the music and technology industries. Over the years, he has worked with several tech start-ups, including serving as senior vice president and editor-in-chief of NetClearly; and as an advisor for Zinio, Newsstand, FindtheDot/Intellidot and Chasing Savings. He also helped develop business strategies and marketing initiatives for the online launches of CustomDisc and Platinum Jack, and was manager of strategic partnerships for the San Francisco Examiner.

Steffens has been keynote speaker, conducted workshops or training, or consulted with journalists and publishers in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Antigua, Dominica, Barbados, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland and France.

He has been a guest lecturer at San Francisco State University; Universidad Astral in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Ohio University in Athens, Ohio; Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio; University of Dayton; Miami University at Oxford, Ohio; California State University at Long Beach; California State University at Fullerton; and Colorado State University at Ft. Collins.

Steffens has worked with the American Press Institute, Poynter Institute for Media Studies, Society of Professional Journalists, Society of News Design, National Press Photographers Association, Freedom Forum and its First Amendment Center, Field Newspaper Syndicate and the Kettering Foundation.

He has judged the international Society of News Design competition and the national Sigma Delta Chi Awards as well as numerous specialty media contests.

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