SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS APPOINTS NATOLI PUBLISHER

By: Joel Davis Knight Ridder Veteran Comes From Miami Herald


Joseph T. Natoli, president of the Miami Herald Publishing Co.,
is the new publisher of the San Jose Mercury News, Knight
Ridder has announced. He replaces Jay T. Harris, who resigned
March 19, citing concerns over company profits at the expense of
journalistic quality.

Natoli, 45, has spent his entire career with Knight Ridder.
Unlike Harris, who came up through the editorial ranks, Natoli
has a finance background, starting in accounting in the company's
suburban division in 1976. He was promoted to his current
position in July 1994. During that time, he held many financial
and operational positions at The Miami Herald, including
controller, vice president/operations, and president and general
manager.

"We are extremely pleased that Joe has accepted this job," said
Knight Ridder Newspaper Division President Steve Rossi. "Not only
does he have a strong background in newspaper operations and
general management; he is deeply involved in the community
affairs of South Florida, and he has some of the best people
skills of any manager I know."

Rossi, promoted to head the newspaper division from senior vice
president for operations in February, was centrally involved in
the dispute that led to Harris' resignation. He sent Harris an e-
mail about profit concerns that prompted Harris to abruptly quit.

"Keep in mind here that the margins of the Mercury News
have ranged between 22% and 29% over the past 10 years, largely
dependent upon the strength of employment advertising," Rossi
wrote. "We need to move that range up in order to be in step with
the goal to move KR's overall margins up."

In his resignation letter, Harris warned that such lofty profit
goals would require draconian cuts, including layoffs, that would
create near-term savings at the expense of the newspaper's
reputation. "The profit target Steve laid out cannot be achieved
short of layoffs," Harris wrote. "My life's purpose is and always
shall be grounded in means that are larger and nobler than that."

Harris' resignation took Mercury News staffers by surprise
last week. "Everybody was shocked," said one veteran Mercury News
journalist, who requested anonymity. "It was a heroic, bold move.
I think he sent a really strong message to Knight Ridder
headquarters, and I think he shamed them."

Knight Ridder is not commenting on the resignation. "We're only
talking about it among ourselves," said corporate spokesman Polk
Laffoon, adding that CEO Tony Ridder - who in 1988 recruited
Harris to groom him as a publisher - has no comment.

Natoli was co-chair of the United Way Miami-Dade 2000-2001
campaign. He is active in many community organizations, including
the Orange Bowl Committee, the Beacon Council, Miami Children's
Hospital Board, Young Presidents' Organization, and the YMCA.

"Joe grew up with newspapers - his father spent his career
with The Miami Herald - and along with his
understanding of the business operations comes a deep commitment
to the journalistic and watchdog role of a newspaper in its
community," Rossi said.

In August 1998, Natoli graduated from Harvard's Advanced
Management Program. He received his B.A. in accounting from the
University of South Florida in 1976, his CPA in 1979, and his
M.B.A. from Nova University in 1980.



Joel Davis (jdavis@editorandpublisher.com) is West Coast editor for E&P.



Copyright 2001, Editor & Publisher.