Automotive News Names New Editor

DETROIT, Aug. 19, 2003 -- Automotive News Editor Edward Lapham is moving to a new senior post in which he will manage the newspaper's editorial page and other major columns of opinion and analysis. Lapham also will become a regular columnist.

Projects Editor David Sedgwick will become editor on Sept. 1. He will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the newspaper's 40 editors and reporters worldwide.

Lapham, 55, has been with Automotive News for 26 years and has led the newsroom since 1993. Under his leadership, the publication became more thoughtful, analytical and international, while retaining its emphasis on breaking news of importance to automakers, dealers and suppliers.

"Ed and I have talked for a long time about how to speak more directly to our readers through our pages," said Peter Brown, executive editor and associate publisher. "We wanted to put Automotive News in the forefront of the many debates taking place in the industry. Now he'll make that happen."

As projects editor, Sedgwick, 50, has managed or reported many of the major pieces of enterprise reporting in Automotive News. Sedgwick authored an in-depth examination of the Big 3's loss of U.S. market share, and he co- authored the dramatic migration of auto suppliers to China.

In 2000 and 2001, he was editor of Automotive News International, a global monthly.

As a reporter at Automotive News, Sedgwick covered General Motors and suppliers. He joined Automotive News in 1995 after 10 years as a business and automotive reporter for The Detroit News.

Sedgwick received a master's degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and a bachelor's degree in English literature from Northwestern University. He lives in Ann Arbor with his wife and son.

Founded in 1925, Automotive News is the industry-leading tabloid newsweekly covering the automotive industry. It is written for car and truck manufacturers, their franchised dealers, and original-equipment suppliers. Readers are decision-makers from all segments of the automotive industry, as well as others allied with it. It is the only 100% paid- subscription publication in the industry, with a circulation of over 81,000. Online address: www.autonews.com .

Headquartered in Detroit, Mich., Crain Communications Inc. publishes over 30 consumer, business and trade publications, including Automotive News,Automotive News Europe, Automobilwoche, AutoWeek,, Advertising Age, BtoB, Modern Healthcare, and Plastics News as well as business weeklies in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit and New York and numerous related business Web sites. It has more than 1,000 employees located in 19 offices worldwide. The company's Web site is www.crain.com .