Bill Barker Joins Column as Advisor

Column is excited to welcome Bill Barker as our latest advisor.

Bill has led a storied career in the news industry, most recently serving as the regional president of Gannett in Florida as well as the president and publisher of the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. In addition to his extensive publishing experience, Bill carries a deep passion and expertise on the importance of public notice. As a board member and former vice-chair of the Florida Press Association, Bill has spent several legislative sessions engaged in critical advocacy work to secure and shape Florida’s public notice policies including the historic legislative package passed earlier this year.

Our CEO, Jake Seaton, shared, "Column has long admired the work of veterans in the publishing space, like Bill, who recognize the need for innovation in public notice and want to play a part in building a brighter future. The whole team is thrilled to work closely with Bill and learn from his expertise and insights."

Column is proud to serve a notable roster of publishing groups including partners like The McClatchy Company, Adams Publishing Group, Ogden Newspapers, Lee Enterprises, Swift Communications, Wick Communications, and The Washington Post.

As an advisor, Bill will play a key role in scaling adoption of our public notice platform for publishers of all shapes and sizes as well as exploring new market opportunities that deepen the value of public notice for our publishing partners.

Bill will also advise Column through the implementation of our new partnership with the Florida Press Association, who recently became the twelfth state association to join Column's free Partner Program. As a member of the Partner Program, the FPA will be equipped with Column’s latest tools to power a brand new statewide public notice website.

“I’m excited to partner with Jake and the tremendously talented Column team,” Barker said. “Having been directly involved with public notice legislation in recent years, I'm impressed with the progress they’ve made toward their mission and their flexibility and openness to listen to partners. The solutions they are building and the reliability, simplicity and efficiency of their tech platform will be vital to ensuring these notices remain available and open to the public via trusted media for years to come."

We welcome Bill to the Column team and look forward to the meaningful work we will achieve together.