As executive vice president of Cox Newspapers, Inc., Cooper manages 17 daily and 26 non-daily newspapers with a total circulation of 1.2 million each weekday and more than 1.6 million on Sundays.
Cooper began his preparations for the deadline-driven, fast-speed world of breaking news as an undergraduate at Wright State. While juggling a full load of classes and a part-time job, Cooper learned “the need to balance things in your life.” As an MBA student, it was “all about teamwork and being able to work with others who were just as busy as I was. It teaches you a good life lesson.”
Cooper is the youngest of four children, all of whom graduated from Wright State. He and his siblings all commuted to campus while working their way through school. Even though he now works at Cox headquarters in Atlanta, Cooper maintains an active interest in his alma mater by serving on the Wright State University Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees. “I am pleased to see how things have progressed over the years,” said Cooper.
Brian G. Cooper is chief operating officer of Cox Ohio Publishing, Inc., and general manager of the Dayton Daily News. Cox Ohio Publishing publishes the Dayton Daily News, the Springfield News-Sun, The Middletown Journal, the Journal News (Hamilton), five weekly newspapers, and various Web sites in the Dayton/Miami Valley and Southwest Ohio Previously, Cooper served as senior vice president of Cox Newspapers, Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., in Atlanta. Cooper was responsible for overseeing Cox's nine community newspapers, the newspapers' financial operations, as well as the company's interest in Cox CustomMedia and PAGAS Mailing Services. Cooper also served as a representative on the boards of Trader Publishing Company and Agora Holdings, corporate parent of Poland's largest daily newspaper.
Active in civic organizations, Cooper has been a board member for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta and the Center for the Visually Impaired Foundation. He is currently treasurer of Inspired Practices in Early Education, Inc., a nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of early care and education in Georgia.
Favorite Wright State memory: My undergraduate time spent working off-campus and going to school. I enjoyed taking some time off in the afternoons and working in a game or two of racquetball in the Physical Education complex.
What I Do for R&R: I'm not very good at rest and relaxation. I always seem to be in motion.
Favorite Quote: Having just returned to Dayton, I've been thinking about one of Yogi Berra's statements: "It's deja vu all over again."
