Ward H. Bushee Named Executive Vice President & Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - January 25, 2008) - Ward H. Bushee has been named executive vice president and editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, and will take over the top editor position of Northern California's largest newspaper on February 1. Bushee was previously the editor and vice president of The Arizona Republic, and replaces Phil Bronstein who was named editor-at-large of Hearst Newspapers Division and The Chronicle on January 23.

The announcement was made jointly by Frank J. Vega, president and publisher, The Chronicle, and George B. Irish, president, Hearst Newspapers. The Chronicle is owned by Hearst Corporation.

"Ward brings a wealth of news experience and journalistic vision to The Chronicle team," said Vega. "He has long been recognized as an editor who instills strong journalistic values, integrity and sense of community at the newspapers he leads."

"The journalism community has regarded Ward as among the top newspaper editors in America and we are happy to have him as editor of The Chronicle," said Irish.

For 21 years, Bushee has been a top editor for Gannett Company, Inc. He was named editor and vice president of The Arizona Republic in November 2002. In that role, he directed the news staff for Arizona's largest newspaper and the 10th largest newspaper in the nation. In the past year, he led the staff in the transformation to an Information Center that delivers news and information to The Arizona Republic, www.azcentral.com, community newspapers and several magazines.

"It is an honor to be coming back to my home area as the editor of the paper that serves the greatest city in the world," said Bushee. "The Chronicle has been my favorite newspaper for as long as I can remember. I have long admired the quality of journalism practiced by its staff and the sense of San Francisco and the Bay Area captured on its pages. I am very excited about the opportunity to lead The Chronicle news staff during this challenging time of transition in the newspaper industry."

Prior to his post at The Arizona Republic, Bushee had been editor and vice president of The Cincinnati Enquirer, beginning in January 1999. He also had been the top editor for the Reno (Nev.) Gazette-Journal and the Sioux Falls (S.D.) Argus Leader.

With Gannett, Bushee was named Editor of the Year three times and 11 times won the company's President's Ring, awarded to outstanding top editors. Under his leadership, the Reno Gazette-Journal and The Arizona Republic respectively were honored with Newspaper of the Year awards.

Bushee is a member of the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism Endowment Board of Trustees at Arizona State University. He serves on the Program Committee for the American Society of Newspaper Editors. He has twice served as a juror for the Pulitzer Prizes.

Bushee's Gannett career began at The Salinas Californian in 1975 and continued at the Marin Independent Journal. In 1982, he left his native California to be on the start-up staff of USA TODAY.

He graduated from San Diego State University in 1971 with a degree in history. He and his wife, Claudia, have two adult children who live in the Bay Area. Bushee's father was a long-time editor of the Register-Pajaronian in Watsonville, Calif.

Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) is one of the nation's largest diversified media companies. Its major interests include ownership of 12 daily and 31 weekly newspapers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle and Albany Times Union; as well as interests in an additional 47 daily and 38 non-daily newspapers owned by MediaNews Group which include the Denver Post and Salt Lake Tribune; nearly 200 magazines around the world, including Cosmopolitan and O, The Oprah Magazine; 29 television stations through Hearst-Argyle Television (NYSE: HTV) which reach a combined 18% of U.S. viewers; ownership in leading cable networks, including Lifetime, A&E, The History Channel and ESPN; as well as business publishing, including a joint venture interest in Fitch Ratings; Internet businesses, television production, newspaper features distribution and real estate.

Contact Information: Contacts: Paul Luthringer Hearst Corporation 212-649-2540 Henry Ford San Francisco Chronicle 415-777-8013