Tri-City Herald Names New Publisher

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Sacramento, Calif.-- The McClatchy Company has named veteran newspaper executive Gregg McConnell as president and publisher of the Tri-City Herald in southeastern Washington, effective Oct. 24. McConnell replaces Rufus M. Friday, who was appointed president and publisher of McClatchy’s Lexington Herald-Leader in May.  

Since 2009, McConnell has been group publisher for three MediaNews Group-owned newspapers in Northern California--the daily Enterprise-Record in Chico and the Oroville Mercury-Register and the thrice-weekly Paradise Post. McConnell has held several key management and executive roles at newspapers in California, Washington and Montana over a 36-year newspaper career.  

Born and raised in Western Montana, McConnell began his newspaper career in 1975, signing on with his hometown weekly in Polson, Mont., as a reporter and photographer. Months later, he moved across the state to Eastern Montana as a reporter and photographer for the twice-weekly Glendive Ranger-Review. His first management job arrived in 1977 as the editor and general manager of a free-distribution weekly in Ronan, Mont.  

In 1979, McConnell joined Scripps League Newspapers as an advertising director in Hamilton, Mont. While still in his 20s, he was promoted to publisher of a small daily in Taft, Calif., and later appointed him as publisher of its larger daily in Petaluma, Calif.  

Other executive and publishing opportunities took McConnell to Washington, including five years as the general manager for non-daily operations at Skagit Publishing in Mount Vernon from 2000 to 2005. From 2002 to 2005, McConnell served on the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association Board of Directors.  In 2005, McConnell joined MediaNews Group and returned to Northern California as publisher of the Lake County Record-Bee and its related operations.

In 2008, MediaNews Group promoted McConnell to I-80 group publisher, where he was responsible for two small dailies, The Reporter in Vacaville and the Daily Democrat in Woodland. In 2009, McConnell was promoted again to group publisher for MediaNews Group-owned newspapers in Chico, Oroville and Paradise.