TV Division Chief Appointed to Head Gannett

Gannett Co. yesterday named a broadcasting industry veteran to run the media company, which owns more than 100 newspapers, including USA Today.

The McLean company said that Craig A. Dubow, head of Gannett's broadcasting division, will replace Douglas H. McCorkindale as president and chief executive on July 15. McCorkindale will continue as chairman until July 1, 2006.

In a written statement, McCorkindale said Dubow's experience with traditional broadcasting and the "digital world" made him the best choice for the job. Karen Hastie Williams, the presiding director on Gannett's board, described Dubow in a prepared statement as "the ideal person to lead Gannett into new opportunities, while continuing to grow our core newspaper and broadcasting operations."

Tara J. Connell, vice president of corporate communications for Gannett, said neither McCorkindale nor Dubow was available for comment yesterday.

"I am eager to lead Gannett through this important time of transition in our new, digital world," Dubow said in a written statement. "The strength of Gannett's traditional businesses will provide the base for our future growth in new technologies and changing ways to deliver our news and information for our readers, viewers and advertisers."

Dubow, 50, has played a role in Gannett's efforts to tap into new technologies in recent years. He will take the helm of a media company that owns 102 daily newspapers in the United States, 17 daily newspapers in Britain and 21 U.S. television stations. It also controls dozens of Internet sites sponsored by its television stations and newspapers.

Dubow has worked at Gannett for the past 24 years in a variety of jobs and has considerable experience selling ads. He started his career with Gannett selling ads for a Denver television station before serving as general sales manager for an Austin television station.

After serving as general manager of Gannett's NBC television affiliate in Atlanta, Dubow was given additional corporate duties as executive vice president of Gannett Television in 1996. Four years later, he was named president and chief executive of Gannett's broadcasting division.

John Morton, a media industry analyst, said he was surprised that Gannett's board of directors had chosen Dubow over Gary L. Watson, head of the company's newspaper division. Morton said the company gets more revenue from its newspapers than from any other division.

"Most people thought Gary Watson would be the one," Morton said. "This signals a bit of a change in who is going to be at the top, but I suspect it is not going to have a big impact on how the company is run. It is a bottom-line-run company, and that won't change."

Before leaving Gannett to head the Associated Press in 2003, Thomas Curley had been considered among the possible successors to McCorkindale. Before he left, Curley was president and publisher of USA Today and senior vice president of administration at Gannett, where he worked for 31 years.

Gannett named Roger L. Ogden, 60, to succeed Dubow as head of its broadcasting operations beginning July 15. Ogden is senior vice president of the broadcasting division and also general manager of its Denver television station, KUSA.

Gannett has not done as well on Wall Street this year as newer, technology-driven media companies with a bigger Internet presence. Yesterday, Gannett stock closed at $75.31 a share, down 6 cents. The stock has traded as high as $88.81 in the past year.