By: Mark Fitzgerald Former Dallas Morning News Publisher and Associated Press Chairman Burl Osborne was named interim CEO of Freedom Communications Inc. to replace Scott Flanders who is leaving to head Playboy Enterprises Inc.
Osborne, 71, has been on Freedom's board of directors since May 2004.
Freedom publishes The Orange County Register and more than 30 other dailies, scores of weeklies. It operates eight broadcast television stations.
Osborne's immediate challenge will be restructuring the $700 million in debt the privately held company has as a result of a 2004 deal to buy out the stakes of some Hoiles family members while allowing family shareholders to continue to control Freedom. Two private equity firms, the Blackstone Group and Providence Equity Partners, raised the funds for that transaction.
Big payments on the debt come due by the end of the year. Last October, Freedom disclosed it was not in compliance with debt-to-revenue ratio covenants of its loan agreement.
"We all know these are challenging times for everyone in the media industry, but what is exceptional about Freedom is the strength and consistency of its commitment to its stakeholders and the communities it serves," Osborne said in a statement. "Everyone is dedicated to transforming our business to meet our challenges, and I look forward to leading the company, in collaboration with the management team, to that goal."
Osborne was executive editor and then publisher of the Dallas Morning News from 1980 to 2001. He was chairman of the board of the AP from 2002 to 2007. Osborne, who lives in Dallas, continues as chair of the Belo Foundation.
Scott Flanders, who has been Freedom's CEO since 2006, is staying until the end of June to help with the transition, and then becomes CEO of Playboy.
"During my time at Freedom, I saw a very committed group of people rise to the task of remaking the company," Flanders said in a statement. "Burl is the right person to lead the next phase of the company's evolution because he understands both the strengths of the media that must be preserved and what needs to be changed to compete in this new media environment."
Thomas Bassett, the chairman of Freedom's board and a great-grandson of founder R.C. Hoiles called Osborne "an exceptional leader who combines outstanding business acumen with depth of experience in the newspaper industry."
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here