Gene Clabes is a visiting professional, teaching in the new media management sequence. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist.

Most recently, he was publisher of the Community Recorder Newspapers in Northern Kentucky where he grew three weekly county newspapers from a circulation of 9,000 to seven community newspapers of more than 50,000. He managed a staff of 25. He also served as editorial director for the Community Press newspapers. As part of his duties, he guided the writing of a best practices handbook for the company that is still used today.

He began his career as a sports writer and became sports editor of his hometown newspaper in Henderson, Ky., at 18. After graduating from the University of Kentucky, he became education writer for the Evansville Courier in Evansville, Ind. He later joined Scripps-owned Evansville Press as a general assignment reporter. For 10 years, he was the paper's government reporter.

Professor Clabes won several awards for investigative reporting. One series of stories resulted in the indictment and conviction of a city engineer for misuse of public funds. He was instrumental in writing a series of award-winning stories that resulted in the Indiana State Legislature passing laws to end the “Two Per Cent Club.” The practice required patronage workers to give two percent of their weekly pay to office holders for political campaigns. He also served as a daily columnist and city editor of The Press.

Professor Clabes was awarded a Ford Foundation Fellowship to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University to study urban journalism. He served as an adjunct journalism instructor at the University of Evansville.

His career also includes stints in the business world where he was a real estate broker and a senior vice president for human resources and communications at a mortgage bank. Professor Clabes is a past president of the Kentucky Press Association. He served on the board of visitors of the University of Kentucky School of Journalism and as chair of the arts and sciences committee to evaluate Northern Kentucky University’s relationship with the Northern Kentucky community.

Professor Clabes is a horseman when time permits. His family owns a quarter horse farm in Northern Kentucky where he breaks and trains quarter horses. He has held a thoroughbred trainer license and raced a public stable at Churchill Downs and Keeneland race tracks.

He is married to Judith Clabes, president and CEO of the Scripps-Howard Foundation. They have two sons, Joseph, a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill in Washington; and Jacob, who works in cell tower industry. Professor and Mrs. Clabes make their home in Fort Mitchell, Ky.