According to the article in The New York Times "Mr. Paulson is a former executive editor at Florida Today as well as at Gannett's chain of newspapers in Westchester County, N.Y. From 1986 to 1988, he was special assistant and chief of staff to Allen H. Neuharth, the founder of USA Today and, at that time, the chairman of Gannett. Mr. Paulson assisted the start-up of USA Today in 1982 while being on loan from another Gannett paper, the Courier-News of Bridgewater, N.J. He is also a senior vice president of the Freedom Forum, a nonprofit foundation led initially by Mr. Neuharth and known for its museum of journalism, the Newseum. For the last seven years, he has also worked for the First Amendment Center, a nonprofit foundation financed by the Freedom Forum." USA Today has also appointed John Hillkirk, managing editor of its Money section, to the position of executive editor. The newspaper has also made additional editorial appointments.

Source: The New York Times