The owner of several area newspapers unexpectedly passed away at his home in Mascoutah on Thursday.
Gregory Hoskins was 67.
Hoskins was owner and operator of Better Newspapers. The chain owns over 35 newspapers as well as several magazines and radio stations across Illinois and Missouri. Better Newspapers purchased the Centralia Sentinel, Salem Times-Commoner, Carlyle Union Banner, and the Greenville Advocate late last year. Better Newspapers already owned the Nashville and Vandalia papers purchased in earlier transitions.
After graduating from the University of Iowa, he worked in the newspaper industry purchasing his first papers in the Mascoutah area in 1991.
Funeral services will be held privately on Tuesday at the Zion Lutheran Church in Mascoutah. Visitation will be held Monday at the Moll Funeral Home in Mascoutah. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis or the Zion Lutheran Church in Mascoutah. Online condolences may be made by visiting mollfuneralhome.com.
