May 5, 2003 -- Seattle – P. Anthony “Tony” Ridder, chairman and chief executive officer of Knight Ridder in San Jose, Calif., was elected chairman of the Newspaper Association of America at its annual meeting, held during the Association’s Annual Convention, April 27-30, at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers. Ridder succeeds William Dean Singleton, vice chairman and chief executive officer of MediaNews Group Inc., Denver, who will continue to serve on the Board as immediate past chairman. Ridder was named chairman and CEO of Knight Ridder in 1995. He has served as president since 1989. Ridder joined the Knight Ridder corporate staff as president of the Newspaper Division in 1986. He moved to the corporate post from his job as president and publisher of the San Jose Mercury News. He joined the Mercury News in 1964 and was serving as general manager when appointed publisher in 1977. Ridder also serves on the executive committee and board of The Associated Press and on the board of Classified Ventures, a national company offering Internet sites on automobiles, real estate and apartments. Ridder serves on the advisory board of the Center for Economic Policy Research and the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University. He is a member of the board of the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose and is past chairman. He is on the board of trustees of Santa Clara University in California. Other officers elected were Vice Chairman Gregg K. Jones, co-publisher of the Greeneville (Tenn.) Sun; Secretary Jay R. Smith, president of Cox Newspapers Inc., Atlanta; and Treasurer Boisfeuillet Jones Jr., publisher and CEO, The Washington Post. Newly elected to two-year terms on the NAA Board of Directors were Walter E. Hussman Jr., publisher, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Wehco Media, Little Rock; Robert M. Nutting, president and CEO, Ogden Newspapers, Wheeling, W.Va.; Paul Tash, editor and president, St. Petersburg Times; and Kathleen M. Waltz, president and publisher, Orlando Sentinel. Board directors re-elected to two-year terms were R. Bruce Bradley, president, publishing group, Landmark Communications Inc., Norfolk; J. Stewart Bryan III, chairman and CEO, Media General Inc., Richmond, Va.; Susan Clark-Johnson, senior group president, Gannett Pacific Newspaper Group, and CEO and publisher, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix; Mark G. Contreras, senior vice president, Pulitzer Newspapers Inc., and vice president, Pulitzer Inc., St. Louis; W. Stacey Cowles, president and publisher, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane; James C. Currow, vice president, Metro Newspapers, Morris Communications Co. LLC, Augusta, Ga.; R. Jack Fishman, editor and publisher, Citizen Tribune, Morristown, Tenn.; Dennis J. FitzSimons, president and CEO, Tribune Co., Chicago; Caroline D. Harrison, general manager, Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance; Michael E. Reed, president and CEO, Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., Birmingham, Ala.; Janet L. Robinson, president and general manager, The New York Times Co. Re-elected to a one-year term was Burl Osborne, publisher emeritus, The Dallas Morning News.