Four incumbents and three new members—including Samuel Zell, chairman and CEO of the Tribune Co. and News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch– were yesterday elected to the board of directors of The Associated Press.
The new members are Donna J. Barrett, president and chief executive officer of Community Newspaper Holdings; Craig A. Dubow, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Gannett Co.; and Zell. Barrett and Zell will serve three-year terms, while Dubow was elected to a one-year term to fill an unexpired vacancy.
Re-elected to three-year terms are William Dean Singleton, who is vice chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNews Group and chairman of the AP board; Jon K. Rust, publisher of the Southeast Missourian and co-president of Rust Communications; Michael E. Reed, chief executive officer of GateHouse Media, and Victor F. Ganzi, president and chief executive officer of Hearst Corp.
Douglas H. McCorkindale, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of Gannett, is retiring from the board after serving five years as a director. Jay Smith, president of Cox Newspapers, is also retiring after serving five years. Dennis FitzSimons, former chairman of Tribune Company, resigned from the board.
Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive officer of News Corporation, will fill the vacancy created by Smith’s retirement until the next election of directors.
The elected term of H. Graham Woodlief, vice president of Media General Inc., expired, and he was reappointed to a two-year term. David Westin, president of ABC News, was reappointed to a three-year term, and Bruce Reese, president and chief executive officer of Bonneville International Corp., was reappointed to a one-year term.
The Associated Press board has 18 directors elected by AP members at their annual meeting, in staggered classes of six each year. These directors are elected to three-year terms and are eligible to serve up to a total of nine years. The board can also appoint up to six additional directors if it chooses. These seats are sometimes filled by former elected directors who first joined the board to fill unexpired terms and end their elected service with one or two years of eligibility remaining.