MICHAEL PHELPS, MANAGING PRINCIPAL, AMAPOLA MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS LLC
Michael Phelps is the Managing Principal of Amapola Marketing Communications LLC, based in Norfolk, Virginia. As Managing Principal, he takes on interim executive assignments and provides counsel in media strategy, press relations, promotion, advertising sales, and fields professional writing, editing, and moderating/facilitation assignments.
Michael’s career began as a reporter for a twice-weekly Cape Cod newspaper. His career most recently included a seven-year tour as the publisher, president, and CEO of The Washington Examiner, a daily newspaper and website. Before that, he was launch publisher for The Baltimore Examiner, a metropolitan daily newspaper that started from scratch.
Michael was vice president, publishing for Lee Enterprises, a publicly held news media company responsible for newspapers and their websites in Iowa, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. Previously, he worked as a reporter, news editor, managing editor, newspaper owner, and consultant to newspaper CEOS and publishers (Newsday, Boston Globe, Hartford Courant, Thomson Newspapers, Howard Publishing, et al.).
Michael taught journalism as editor-in-residence at Michigan State University and graduate media economics at Emerson College.
His military service (Navy & Massachusetts Air National Guard) spanned 21 years, active and reserve, including line and public affairs assignments, and he retired as a lieutenant colonel. He is a graduate of both the junior and senior public affairs officer courses of the Department of Defense Information School. He has served on the USO Board of Governors and has board experience with both a university and a hospital.
