Gary Pruitt, The McClatchy Company's (NYSE: MNI) chairman and CEO, has resigned as a trustee of each of four trusts formed for the benefit of McClatchy family members and has named McClatchy board member Leroy Barnes, Jr. as his successor.
Collectively, the four trusts hold 12,500,000 shares of the company's Class B shares and control approximately 41% of the voting power of the company. Mr. Barnes will serve as co-trustee with three other trustees: William Ellery McClatchy, William B. McClatchy and William K. Coblentz.
"Mr. Pruitt had always intended to name a successor trustee. Mr. Barnes is a perfect fit -- he has now served on the board for eight years, including his role as a financial expert, and has a strong working relationship with McClatchy family members. With a potential successor fitting all the criteria, Mr. Pruitt determined it was the right time to make this move," said Elaine Lintecum, the company's spokeswoman.
Mr. Pruitt's decision was reported in a Form 13D filed by him with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, September 5, 2008.
About McClatchy
The McClatchy Company is the third largest newspaper company in the United States, with 30 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 extend its audience reach. The websites offer users comprehensive news and information, advertising, e-commerce and other services. Together with its newspapers and direct marketing products, these interactive 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 owns a portfolio of premium digital assets, including 14.4% of CareerBuilder, the nation's largest online job site, and 25.6% of Classified Ventures, a newspaper industry partnership that offers two of the nation's premier classified websites: the auto website, cars.com, and the rental site, apartments.com. McClatchy is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MNI.
SOURCE The McClatchy Company
