Legacy media: A talk with George Hearst III

The publisher of the Times Union talks about his family's ongoing role in American journalism, and what comes next

George R. Hearst III, publisher and CEO of the Times Union, in the Hearst Media Center in Colonie. The walls of the conference center in the newspaper's headquarters are illustrated with a timeline of the Hearst Corporation's history — including the central role played by his great-grandfather, William Randolph Hearst. (Photo credit: Will Waldron/Times Union)

Posted Tuesday, July 30, 2024 1:53 pm

Casey Seiler | Times Union

Interviewing your boss can be a dicey proposition, and should under no circumstances be attempted unless that individual is interesting.

George R. Hearst III is worth the risk, and not only because he has served as publisher of the Times Union since 2009. Southern California-raised, he was working in San Francisco, with a wife and young daughter, in the late 1980s when he was offered the chance to take a deeper role in the media company that bears his family’s name.

The options on the table were Texas or the Northeast. “I went home and informed my wife of the choices given, and she said, ‘If you’re going to Texas, you’re going by yourself,’” he recalled.

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Legacy media: A talk with George Hearst III

The publisher of the Times Union talks about his family's ongoing role in American journalism, and what comes next

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