J. Patrick Doyle to Succeed Mike Sexton as Publisher of the Anchorage Daily News

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Dec. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The McClatchy Company today named veteran newspaper executive J. Patrick Doyle as president and publisher of the Anchorage Daily News, where he will replace retiring publisher Mike Sexton. Doyle is currently president and publisher of The Palladium-Item of Richmond, Ind., owned by the Gannett Co., Inc.

"All of us at McClatchy want to thank Mike for eight years of strong and successful leadership in Anchorage and to wish him the very best in his retirement," said Gary Pruitt, McClatchy's chairman and chief executive officer. "As we do so, we are thrilled to be able to simultaneously welcome Pat Doyle to the company. Pat is an experienced and proven newspaper executive with a 30-year record of success in our industry. His talent and experience make him a great fit to lead the Anchorage Daily News going forward."

Doyle, 55, joined Gannett in 2001 as president and publisher of The Palladium-Item. He previously worked as group publisher for the Conley Publishing Group in Hartford, Wis. Before joining the Conley Publishing Group in 1997, Doyle spent 17 years with Thomson Newspapers, Inc. in a variety of executive roles, including vice president and group publisher with oversight of four daily and five non-daily newspapers in central and southeastern Wisconsin.

Doyle was born and raised in Owatonna, Minn. He earned two associate arts degrees in graphic arts and marketing from South Central College in Minnesota. He began his newspaper career in 1976 working in advertising sales for his hometown paper, the Owatonna People's Press.

"Alaska is a great place to be in the news business, and Pat has always been the kind of leader who makes the most of great opportunities," said Bob Weil, vice president, operations, at McClatchy. "This is one of those great occasions where the right person and the right job come together, and we look forward to watching the daily news reach new levels of excellence."

Since he arrived at The Palladium-Item seven years ago, Doyle has been heavily involved in the community. He serves on the boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Wayne County, Main Street Richmond-Wayne County and the Richmond Economic Growth Group. He is a member of the Board of Advisors for Indiana University East.

Doyle and his wife, Linda, have two adult children, Katie, 26, and Jeffrey, 23.

Sexton, 58, retires after a 38-year career in the newspaper industry. Sexton grew up in Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and will return to the Midwest to be closer to family and longtime friends.

"These are challenging times for our industry but our journalistic mission hasn't changed," Sexton said, "and I'm confident about the Daily News' continuing success under McClatchy ownership."

Among the highlights of his tenure, Sexton cited expanding the newspaper's online business and web presence and positioning the newspaper -- Alaska's largest -- for its future as "a hybrid news and information company."

About McClatchy:

The McClatchy Company is the third largest newspaper company in the United States, with 31 daily newspapers, approximately 50 non-dailies and direct marketing and direct mail operations. McClatchy also operates leading local websites in each of its markets which complement its newspapers and extend its audience reach in each market. Together with its newspapers and direct marketing products, these operations make McClatchy the leading local media company in each of its premium high growth markets. McClatchy-owned newspapers include The Miami Herald, The Sacramento Bee, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, The Kansas City Star, The Charlotte Observer, and The (Raleigh) News & Observer.

McClatchy also has a portfolio of premium digital assets. Its leading local websites offer users information, comprehensive news, advertising, e-commerce and other services. The company owns and operates McClatchy Interactive, an interactive operation that provides websites with content, publishing tools and software development. McClatchy operates Real Cities (http://www.realcities.com/), the largest national advertising network of local news websites and owns 14.4% of CareerBuilder, the nation's largest online job site. McClatchy also owns 25.6% of Classified Ventures, a newspaper industry partnership that offers classified websites such as the nation's number two online auto website, cars.com, and the number one rental site, apartments.com. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.