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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. Paul M. Keep, publisher and editor of The Muskegon Chronicle, has been appointed editor of The Grand Rapids Press, its publisher announced Monday.

Danny R. Gaydou said Keep will succeed Mike Lloyd, who is retiring at the end of this month after serving 31 years as the Press' top news executive.

"We are pleased to have a journalist with Paul's experience to lead our newsroom at this important time," Gaydou said.

Leadership of the Muskegon paper will be taken up by Steve Westphal, who will be the Chronicle's general manager and the executive responsible for the overall newspaper. He will continue in his current role as general manager of the Press.

Cindy Fairfield, the Chronicle's local news editor, will become editor and be responsible for all newsgathering and editorial operations.

The changes take effect July 1.

"Having strong, local leadership for the Chronicle is vital in these turbulent times for newspapers, so I'm pleased that Paul's work in Muskegon can be built upon by such talented individuals as Steve and Cindy," Gaydou said.

Keep, 51, has worked at four Michigan newspapers, all of which belong to Advance Publications Inc., which also owns The Grand Rapids Press.

He started his 26-year newspaper career as a reporter at the Kalamazoo Gazette, where he also was business editor and assistant metro editor. He became the Chronicle's news editor in 1989.

Keep was appointed editor of The Bay City Times in 1993 and editor of The Flint Journal in 1999. He returned to Muskegon as editor in 2006 and publisher was added to his title a year later.

Westphal, 54, formerly was the Press' director of advertising and marketing. He has also held management positions at newspapers in Spokane, Wash.; Dubuque, Iowa; and Gary, Ind.

Fairfield, 48, has been local news editor since February. Before that, she was projects editor for two years and sports editor for 17 years.