You’re reading it here first… Johnston Press digital publishing manager John Bradshaw will retire on Friday after 12 years with the regional news group. Former AOL (NYSE: TWX) UK strategy VP Lori Cunningham came in above Bradshaw as digital director in March, replacing Alex Green, with a brief to “take the digital strategy forward but not to turn it on its head”, as CEO Tim Bowdler told me at the time. That strategy so far has shied away from acquisitions but has concentrated on Johnston’s core local news focus.

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Bradshaw established Johnston’s online operations in 1996, starting some of the UK’s first local news sites. The online portfolio is now up to around 323 local sites and digital revenue grew 34 percent to £15.1 million in 2007. Last year the publisher introduced a degree of integration in its many newsrooms. Bradshaw launched a number of free newspapers way back in the 1970s before selling them to Emap (LSE: EMA), where he set up that division’s digital ops before its papers were bought out by Johnston three years later.

Johnson, however, is lumbered with over £700 million in debt and was last month forced to sell a 20 percent stake to Malaysian investor Uhasa Tegas for £212.3 million to help it out.