Tribune Co. names Baltimore publisher

Tribune Co. names Baltimore publisher

	Published : Tue, 20 Mar 2007 01:36 By : Agencies Print this Story

BALTIMORE (AP) - Rondra J. Matthews has resigned as publisher and chief executive officer of The (Baltimore) Sun and will be succeeded by Timothy Ryan, Tribune Co. announced Monday.

Matthews, who took the job in October, was stepping down for personal reasons, the company said.

Matthews told The Associated Press she will be looking for a job that offers more flexibility to help her mother, who lives alone in Williamsburg, Va. 'She needs me,' Matthews said.

Matthews had been president, publisher and chief executive officer of the Tribune-owned Daily Press Inc. in Newport News, Va., before coming to the Sun.

Ryan will be the fourth publisher at the Sun since Chicago-based Tribune Co. purchased the paper in 2000. Previous publishers include Denise E. Palmer, who held the position from 2002 to 2006 and Mike Waller, who led the paper from 1997 to 2002.

'It's part of the chaos in the industry in general and the Tribune in particular,' said Sun reporter Mike Hill, a union representative. 'It's unsettling. You wonder what kind of corporation you work for. The Tribune tends to be very hands-on and very chaotic. It's a bad combination.'

Hill said Matthews had created a good impression in the newsroom in her short tenure and Ryan comes with a good reputation.

Ryan was named vice president for circulation and consumer marketing at the Chicago Tribune in March 2005. He held a similar position at the Sun from July 2000 to February 2005. His new position takes effect Friday.

'I am very excited to be back in Maryland and back at the Sun,' he said. 'I'd always hoped I could come back again and contribute. This is a great company with a great tradition.'

A native of Rochester, N.Y., Ryan earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Notre Dame and a master's in business administration from Northwestern University. He started at the Chicago Tribune in 1982, serving in a variety of circulation management positions.

Ryan's management responsibilities at the Tribune Co. included oversight of RedEye, a free tabloid aimed at young adults. He said he would not rule out creating a similar publication at the Sun, which faces competition from the Baltimore Examiner, a free Monday-Saturday tabloid owned by Clarity Media Group Inc. of Denver.

Tribune Co. has been contemplating several restructuring proposals to increase shareholder value. It sold two Connecticut papers earlier this month to Gannett Co. and has said it may release other plans within the next couple of weeks.

At least one business group has expressed interest in returning Maryland's largest daily to local control, although the parent company has no current plans to sell, Tribune spokesman Gary Weitman said.

The company owns 11 newspapers, including the Sun, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Press and the Los Angeles Times, along with 23 television stations and the Chicago Cubs baseball team.