Daily Item welcomes new general manager

LYNN ? Peter H. Gamage, president and publisher of The Daily Item, today announced that Philip Ouellette has joined the newspaper as its general manager.Ouellette, 45, a Groveland resident formerly of Danvers, brings to the post more than two decades of experience in the newspaper business. As general manager, Ouellette will oversee the newspaper’s print and Web site operations.Ouellette began his career in advertising sales at The Daily Item, completing an internship while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Merrimack College. He recently worked as a marketing and sales director for the Community Newspaper Co. in Framingham, a subsidiary of the publicly-held Gatehouse Media of Rochester, N.Y. His career track has also included working for the Lawrence Eagle Tribune newspaper as circulation manager for seven years, a position that followed a stint with the Salem News.”With the industry changing rapidly, we fully expect to utilize Phil’s wealth of knowledge in marketing and sales areas, as well as day-to-day operations. Phil has spent a 22+ year career in the newspaper business, with the majority of it around various North Shore communities,” said Gamage, noting that Ouellette will use his experience to help The Daily Item market new and existing products to fresh audiences, as he has done for previous employers.Ouellette is married to Diane (Gallo) Ouellette, formerly of Lynn, who was a member of The Daily Item’s circulation department for eight years and, whose late mother, Esther Gallo, was a company receptionist prior to her retirement. The couple has two daughters n Nicole, 19, and Danielle, 16.”I’m looking at all aspects of the Web and print, hoping to maximize the sales opportunities as they present themselves,” he said. “One objective is to help the local business community get its message across using our newspaper and Web site, www.itemlive.com. Expanding our newspaper online creates another tool through which our advertisers can reach their audiences.”