By: Jennifer Saba The two founders and co-publishers of the free Palo Alto (Calif.) Daily News are stepping down from the company due to the uncertainty surrounding Knight Ridder.
Knight Ridder bought the Palo Alto Daily News and its five Bay Area sister publications in February from Dave Price and Jim Pavelich.
With the February sale, Knight Ridder wanted Price and Pavelich to stay on board to develop the free daily concept in other markets, Price told E&P this morning. All plans have been put on hold because of Knight Ridder's potential sale. "We left there on positive terms," Price said. "I think [Knight Ridder] is going to do an awesome job running the papers."
Price said right before Nov. 1, when Bruce Sherman, CEO of Private Capital Management, fired off a letter to Knight Ridder demanding a sale of the company, Price and Pavelich had signed a contract with Knight Ridder to formally move forward with expansion plans. Last week, both were informed by Knight Ridder that all plans for 2006 were in limbo.
"It's a shame in many ways," Price says about the potential sale of Knight Ridder. "It's well managed with bright people at the top."
Price and Pavelich have decided to move on so they can complete other newspaper projects outside of San Francisco. Their last day is Dec. 31. "We've got a great concept her and we're going to work on it," Price said.
Shareef Dajani, currently general manager of the Daily News, will take their place. He previously headed a group of Knight Ridder-owned suburban weeklies, Hill Newspapers.
Price, Pavelich, and David Danforth, who has left the company, started the free publication 10 years ago. The paper has since launched other California editions in San Mateo, Redwood City, Burlingame, Los Gatos, and Berkeley. The group's combined daily circulation is 67,000 and 53,000 on Sunday. The paper has 75 full-time employees.
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