Pruitt named CEO of Associated Press

Gary Pruitt, a former First Amendment lawyer who heads the third-largest newspaper company in the U.S., will become the next president and CEO of The Associated Press, the cooperative announced Wednesday.

Pruitt, the chairman, president and CEO of The McClatchy Co., will join AP in July, taking over for Tom Curley, who is retiring after leading the news organization for nine years.

"In Gary, we have chosen a seasoned and worthy successor to Tom Curley to continue AP's transition to a digital news company," said William Dean Singleton, outgoing chairman of the AP Board of Directors and chairman of MediaNews Group Inc. "Gary has deep experience in the changing world of the news industry, an acute business sense and an overriding understanding of and commitment to AP's news mission."

Pruitt, 54, will take over an organization pressed by rapid changes in the news industry. AP has spent most of the past decade working to transform itself, launching new platforms for multimedia content, seeking fresh sources of revenue and protecting the results of its newsgathering in the online marketplace.