Boston Globe publisher Gilman retires

BOSTON (AFX) - Richard Gilman is retiring as publisher of The Boston Globe, the Globe's parent company The New York Times Co. announced Thursday.

Gilman, 55, will be succeeded by P. Steven Ainsley, who is now president and chief operating officer of the company's Regional Media Group, comprised of 14 daily newspapers in the southeast and in California. Mary Jacobus, currently president and general manager of the Globe, will succeed Ainsley.

Gilman will serve as an adviser until the end of the year. Ainsley, 53, will assume his new position on Tuesday.

In addition to overseeing the Globe, Ainsley will also assume Gilman's responsibilities as head of the Times' New England operations, which include the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, the Web sites of both newspapers and other business interests including an investment in Metro Boston, a free daily newspaper.

Gilman was named publisher of The Boston Globe in 1999 after serving in a number of senior positions at The New York Times Co. The Globe won three Pulitzer Prizes under his leadership, including the Gold Medal for Public Service for the paper's investigation into the widespread sexual abuse by Roman Catholic priests in the Boston Archdiocese.

The Globe, like many other newspapers across the country, has struggled in recent years. John Morton of Morton Research Inc., a longtime newspaper industry analyst, said newspapers in New England have been particularly hard hit.

"I'm not sure any newspaper in the region has escaped the impact of the very soft economy in New England," Morton said.

The Times' New England newspapers, anchored by the Globe, have been a drag on the company's earnings. In the second quarter, the New England papers reported a 10.4 percent drop in advertising, a decline the company attributed to the region's economic climate and consolidation of key advertisers, including Macy's and Filene's.

Gilman began his career as a journalist with the Arizona Daily Star in Tucson. He was named publisher of the Globe in 1999 after holding a number of senior positions at The New York Times Co.

During Gilman's tenure as publisher, the company acquired the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, made investments in Metro Boston and New England Sports Ventures, which owns the Boston Red Sox.

Gilman said he had planned his retirement for some time so he can pursue a series of writing projects.

"We do have challenging times here, and it's difficult to find the right moment to do something like this," he told The Associated Press. "We do have a very strong management team in place ... as we embark down a variety of paths that are responsive to the changes in the media world, it just makes total sense that this was the right moment in time for the next generation of leadership to take over."

Ainsley became president and chief operating officer of the Regional Media Group in 2003. The Group has won four Pulitzer Prizes and its 14 daily newspapers have an average total weekday circulation of more than 600,000 copies. Previously, he was senior vice president of the Regional Newspaper Group since 1999. Ainsley had been a publisher at various New York Times Co.-owned newspapers since 1982.

Jacobus, 49, became the president and general manager of The Boston Globe in January 2006. Previously, Jacobus was the president and chief executive officer of Fort Wayne Newspapers and publisher of the News-Sentinel in Fort Wayne, Ind. Before that, she was the president and publisher of the Duluth News Tribune in Duluth, Minn.

In addition to the Times, the Globe, and its regional newspapers, the company also owns the International Herald Tribune, nine network-affiliated television stations, two New York City radio stations and 35 Web sites, including NYTimes.com, Boston.com and About.com. Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be

Copyright 2006 AFX News Limited. All Rights Reserved.