UPDATED: Riggs Quits as Head of California Newspaper Group

By: E&P Staff and Joe Strupp George Riggs has resigned as chief executive of California Newspapers Partnership, the three-company group that owns nearly all of the Bay Area's daily papers.

He said he was doing it for "personal" reasons, adding, "It's just a good time to leave. I'm finished with a lot of the things I was working on and it was time to move on," according to an account in the Contra Costa Times, where he once served as publisher.

The resignation will be effective at the end of January. Riggs, 61, is president and chief executive officer of California Newspapers Partnership, the San Ramon-based firm owned by MediaNews Group, Gannett Co. Inc., and Stephens Media.

Riggs, who had said just weeks ago to E&P that he had no plans to leave, said Monday, "I pretty much made up my mind at the beginning of the year. The consolidation of operations is all completed, a lot of the heavy lifting is done now and in place."

At 61, he says he will stay in the Bay Area, but has no future plans yet. "I may look at doing something different," he told E&P, "outside the business."

Asked about speculation that his departure had something to do with the surprise resignation earlier this month of Mercury News Editor Carole Leigh Hutton, whom he hired last year, Riggs said only, "she is an outstanding journalist and editor so I was sorry to see her leave."

According to an Associated Press report, Riggs, 61, said in an interview Monday that the tough times wore on him. "It's not much fun for anyone in the industry right now, and I am no exception," Riggs said.

Reached by E&P today, Hutton declined comment.

The departure of Riggs came on the heels of Hutton's exit. The San Jose Mercury News pointed out today, "Hutton had been appointed by Riggs and had proposed a sweeping transformation of the Silicon Valley newspaper into a three-section publication."

MediaNews named one of its executives as editor to replace Hutton. It's not completely clear that the Hutton move led, in turn, to Riggs' departure.

"George has done an extraordinary job and we are sorry to see him go," said William Dean Singleton, chief executive officer of MediaNews Group. "However, we respect his desire to try something different."

Singleton said that Riggs' responsibilities will be assumed by Steve Rossi, MediaNews Executive Vice President and COO.

An excerpt from the Contra Costa Times article (which also includes a good deal of biogrpahical material) follows.
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As CEO of California Newspapers Partnership, Riggs presided over a far-reaching effort to combine operations of newspapers the group owned throughout the Bay Area. Papers shared news content and advertising efforts.

Riggs directed the consolidation of the partnership's newspapers in Alameda County, Contra Costa County and Santa Clara County into a single operation called Bay Area News Group. The group includes the San Jose Mercury News, the Contra Costa Times and the Oakland Tribune among its publications.

Through the consolidation, editorial, advertising, circulation and production operations of Contra Costa Newspapers and ANG Newspapers were merged as Bay Area News Group-East Bay. The newspaper partnership also sold surplus land, buildings and equipment, Riggs said.