Times Leader , July 20

McHugh stepping down as Times Leader publisher

Times Leader President and Publisher Patrick McHugh announced July 20 that he is stepping down. The reins of the paper will now be held by Rich Connor, a former Times Leader publisher who recently assembled investors to buy the paper.

McHugh was named publisher in March 1999, following more than a quarter century of newspaper work for various Knight Ridder properties.

“I go back to a time when Knight Newspapers was a privately held -- and really great -- newspaper company,” McHugh said. “I have cherished my time working on behalf of the company that carried that name and tried hard to honor the legacy of the great newspaper people who served Knight and then Knight Ridder Newspapers.”

Knight Ridder recently sold the Times Leader and 31 other papers to The McClatchy Co., which immediately announced it would be reselling the Times Leader.

Times Leader Editor Matt Golas praised McHugh’s leadership. "He is the type of publisher who protected the newsroom. He let the editors stay in the newsroom and attend to news stories. He didn’t want us mired in administration. He was as interested in a good news story as any editor or reporter at the paper,” Golas said.

McHugh, 53, told high-level managers he will stay with the paper until July 28. The sale of the Times Leader from McClatchy to Connor is expected to close on that date.

"My direct association with the newspaper was 20 years ago and so I was anxious to get a look at the present-day newspaper when it came up for sale," Connor said. "When we began looking at the financial and circulation statistics that demonstrated growth and improvements made here under Pat’s leadership I was impressed.

"He has been an excellent steward of this newspaper."

An advocate for children’s issues and father of four, McHugh has served on non-profit boards working on behalf of children and the poor. He is also credited with increasing the Times Leader’s support for several non-profit agencies and causes over the years.

Financially, the paper’s operating income doubled during McHugh’s tenure, despite troubled times for the Times Leader’s circulation area and newspapers nationwide. McHugh has also supported the newsroom’s efforts to fight secrecy. The paper has sued on numerous fronts for public information and to gain access to closed meetings.

"He is obviously a competitive newspaperman and businessman,” Connor said. “He has been instrumental in maintaining the newspaper’s dominant position as the daily newspaper for the area.”

Prior to coming to the Times Leader, McHugh was senior vice president of circulation and operations for Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.

McHugh has described himself as the son of newspaper people. His mother worked in administration for The Miami Herald and Knight Ridder and his father was a photographer for the Chicago Tribune and the New York Daily News.

He has a production and circulation background and began his career at The Miami Herald as a high school senior. He worked for the newspaper for 16 years, putting himself through college and rising to management positions.

In 1972, he was drafted by the U.S. Army (one of the last draftees of that era) and served for 18 months as a law clerk at a group headquartered in Europe.

In 1986, he was named director of operations for the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Newspapers, and in 1990, he was named vice president of production for the Akron (Ohio) Beacon Journal. He moved to Philadelphia in 1993, where he was responsible for completing the transition of The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News to a new printing operation.

He is a graduate of Florida International University and completed the Northwestern University Newspaper Management Center Advanced Executive Program in 1997.

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