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The Tidewater News and its affiliated publications have announced the appointment of Ed Pugh as publisher, succeeding Betty Ramsey.

Pugh, currently regional editor for The Tidewater News, Windsor Weekly and Suffolk News-Herald, will retain that role while also moving into the position of publisher of The Tidewater News.

Ramsey, who has served as publisher since 2020, has been named a vice president of Carpenter Media Group. She will continue to serve as publisher of Carpenter-owned The Farmville Herald, The Charlotte-Gazette and The Kenbridge-Victoria Dispatch. 

“Being a part of The Tidewater News team has been a pleasure and an honor. The commitment this team shows to each other, and the community we serve, is unwavering.  Ed Pugh brings that same commitment with him. Our readers, customers and The Tidewater News team are in the best of hands under Pugh’s leadership,” Ramsey said. 

The leadership change was announced to employees on Feb. 26, and it will be effective March 1.

“We are saddened by the departure of our good friend and mentor Betty Ramsey, but excited about her new career chapter,” said Steve Stewart, president and chief executive officer of Boone Newsmedia Inc. and co-owner of The Tidewater News. “We won’t skip a beat under the leadership of Ed Pugh, a veteran newspaperman who understands the importance of excellent community journalism.”

Pugh began his newspaper career at the Augusta (GA) Chronicle in 1998, where he worked in marketing and distribution before moving to the now-shuttered Tampa (FL) Tribune in 2003. Pugh returned to Georgia in 2007, serving in all facets of operations at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. In 2013, he joined Boone Newsmedia, Inc. in LaGrange, Georgia, where he served a hybrid production and audience development director role. He began in Suffolk in August 2023 as editor and was recently elevated to regional editor for Suffolk News-Herald, The Tidewater News and Windsor Weekly. Before arriving in Suffolk last year, Pugh served as the Valley (AL) Times-News general manager since 2017.

“I am excited to serve the Southampton County and southern Isle of Wight County communities,” Pugh said. “I have big shoes to fill, but Betty has laid a great foundation with a talented staff. We wish Betty nothing but success, and she knows there will always be a place for her here in Franklin.”

Ramsey first joined The Tidewater News in 2005 as the advertising director and was promoted to general manager in 2009. In 2010, she was named president and publisher of Tryon Newsmedia, LLC, based in Tryon, North Carolina, an affiliate of Boone Newsmedia, LLC and Carpenter Media Group. Ramsey returned to Virginia in 2017 as president and publisher of Farmville Newsmedia, LLC. She was named group publisher in 2020, where she rejoined The Tidewater News as president and publisher, along with affiliate Suffolk Publications, LLC.