07/20/06

MediaNews' William Dean Singleton named AP chairman-elect

NEW YORK -- The Associated Press Board of Directors has chosen William Dean Singleton, vice chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group Inc., as its vice chairman and chairman-elect. Singleton is expected to succeed Burl Osborne, publisher emeritus of The Dallas Morning News, at the cooperative's annual meeting next May. Osborne will have completed five years as chairman.

The board also voted to impose no general assessment increase on the basic services of AP newspaper and broadcast members for 2007. This would be the first year since 1971 without a rate increase on basic services. The increases for those services have averaged 2.7% over the last decade. The board did establish a 5 percent increase on most rates for non-member customers and on selected special services and premium products for members.

The announcements were made Thursday, July 20, after the board's meeting at AP headquarters in New York.

Singleton was first elected to the AP board in 1999. He was re-elected to a three-year term in 2005. He founded MediaNews Group, one of the largest privately-owned newspaper companies in the United States, in 1983.

"The Associated Press is fortunate to have in Dean another independent leader passionate about the historic role of AP and its journalism as well as the opportunities for the media in the digital era," said Thomas Curley, president and CEO. "Burl has provided marvelous guidance during a CEO transition and in defining the steps AP must take toward becoming an electronic cooperative."

Singleton, 54, began his newspaper career at the age of 15 as a part-time reporter in his hometown of Graham, Texas, and bought his first newspaper at age 21. He served on the board of the Newspaper Association of America from 1993 until 2004 and is the former chairman of the board. He is also chairman of the board and publisher of The Denver Post and The Salt Lake Tribune.

During Osborne’s chairmanship, he oversaw the selection of Curley, who succeeded Lou Boccardi after 18 years. In his tenure, Osborne has helped steer The Associated Press into the digital media era and build its mission to become a digital global news network. Osborne was elected AP chairman in 2002, succeeding Donald E. Newhouse, president of Advance Publications Inc. and of the Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J.

Osborne joined The Dallas Morning News as executive editor in 1980, after a 20-year career with the AP. In 1981, he became vice president and executive editor of the newspaper and was promoted to senior vice president and editor in 1983. He was named president and editor in 1985, and was elected a director of Belo in 1987. He became publisher of The Dallas Morning News in 1991 and president of Belo's Publishing Division in 1995. He retired as an executive officer of Belo on Dec. 31, 2001, and retired from Belo's Board of Directors in June 2002. He has been a trustee of the Belo Foundation since 1996. Osborne was first elected to the AP board in 1993.

The Associated Press is a not-for-profit cooperative of U.S. newspapers and broadcasters, a global network providing coverage of news, sports, business, entertainment, politics and technology in all media formats to some 15,000 news outlets in more than 120 nations, reaching more than 1 billion people a day.

Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720