Jerry Bellune

Jerry Bellune has more than 40 years in the newspaper business and broadcasting, and has been involved in every aspect of public communications. He is an award-winning newspaper editor and broadcast personality in several major markets including New York and Philadelphia. Jerry has played numerous leadership roles in the newspaper industry in four states, and has organized and served as president of leadership and networking groups nationally and locally in his community. Jerry and his wife, MacLeod, have started or acquired eight successful businesses over the last 25 years. They believe in local involvement and giving back to their community, and have played key roles in founding and organizing their community’s annual fall festival and other charitable fund-raisers. Jerry is a past recipient of the Sam Walton Business Leader of the Year award. Both Jerry and MacLeod hold numerous awards for publishing excellence. Jerry has worked as a decision maker for the two largest newspaper groups in the United States, as well as award-winning privately-owned newspapers. As a journalist, he has been honored for his coverage of the White House, State Department, Pentagon, United Nations and the Middle East. He has been the guest of Presidents Carter and Reagan at the White House. His team uncovered the FBI plan to capture fugitive Robert Vesco and bring him back to the United States. He edited and published the Pulitzer Prize-winning series that exposed a Vatican cover-up of a multi-million-dollar scandal. As a motivational speaker, trainer and teacher, he has coached professionals for more than two dozen news organizations coast to coast and taught at three universities. Today he teaches marketing and entrepreneurship to business owners and those who are involved in business start-ups. Jerry is well-respected for his monthly columns on leadership, sales and planning which are read by several thousand industry leaders nationally in Publisher’s Auxiliary, Publisher’s Idea Exchange and Publisher’s Circulation Reference.