Kevin Cooper has been named publisher of The Natchez Democrat, natchezdemocrat.com and affiliated publications and named vice president of Boone Newspapers Inc., parent company of the newspaper.

Cooper has served as associate publisher of the publications since early 2006. He succeeds Todd Carpenter, who has served in a dual role for several years as both publisher of The Natchez Democrat and president and chief operating officer of BNI, a Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based company.

The change will more clearly define each of their primary roles.

Carpenter will continue to live and base his work in Natchez. Cooper will also continue to live and work in Natchez.

“I am humbled to be following Todd Carpenter and the other incredible people who have led The Democrat through the years,” Cooper said. “I am honored to have been given the opportunity to help lead the newspaper and its amazingly talented staff and hopefully make the newspaper better for our community and our readers.”

“Kevin Cooper is a newspaper publisher who understands the important role of a newspaper in being a catalyst for positive change in its community,” Carpenter said. “And he understands how to develop and lead a team of the best and brightest newspaper people. He is well prepared to lead The Democrat and I am pleased he has earned the opportunity.

“I look forward to continuing to work from The Democrat, under the same roof with Kevin and his team, and to basing my work from Natchez which has become home to our family.”

A native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, Cooper, 35, first joined The Democrat in 1993 as a photographer after earning a journalism degree from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Later, he worked as a staff photographer for The (Biloxi) Sun Herald before rejoining The Democrat staff as creative director in 1998.

Cooper was named managing editor of The Democrat in 1999 and editor in 2001.

In addition to his editorial positions, he has served as The Democrat’s director of new media and coordinator of Boone Newspapers Inc. Web sites.

He left Natchez in 2002 to become publisher of The Ironton (Ohio) Tribune, also a BNI company, returning in 2006.

Boone Newspapers (www.boonenewspapers.com) publishes newspapers, Web sites, shopping guides and various publications in Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota.