In an industry shake-up, Austin Beutner was fired early Tuesday as publisher and CEO of the Los Angeles Times and San Diego Union-Tribune.
Beutner, who had been heading up the largest newspaper in the Chicago-based Tribune Publishing chain, was let go for what sources said was lagging financial performance and expensive executive hires seen by some as a prelude to a potential political run. He is a former investment banker and Los Angeles deputy mayor.
Tribune Publishing has named Timothy Ryan, publisher of the company’s Baltimore Sun, to replace Beutner effective immediately, the company said. Ryan’s mission will be to realign the California News Group with the company’s broader portfolio, where the Chicago Tribune and other properties have outperformed it financially, sources said.
Richard J. Daniels, publisher and CEO of the Hartford Courant Media Group, will serve as interim publisher of the Baltimore Sun and the Morning Call of Allentown, Pa., the company said. Daniels will continue at The Courant in his present role and will still report to Denise Warren, Tribune Publishing’s CEO of East Coast Publishing and president of Tribune Publishing Digital, while a search is underway to replace Ryan.
A spokesman for Tribune Publishing declined to comment on Beutner’s firing.
Beutner was named to his post in August 2014, one week after Tribune Publishing spun off from Tribune Media as a stand-alone newspaper company under CEO Jack Griffin.
In May, Tribune Publishing, which owns 11 daily newspapers, acquired the San Diego Union-Tribune for $85 million and put both operations under Beutner.
Sources said Monday that Tribune Publishing was unhappy with financial performance of the two newspapers, specifically the Los Angeles Times, which represents a third of the company’s revenue.
A number of Beutner’s high-profile hires didn’t sit well with Tribune Publishing, especially those with political undertones.
In November, Internet strategist Nicco Mele, who helped move political campaigning into the digital era, was named deputy publisher of the Los Angeles Times. Johanna Maska, who served in various roles with the Obama administration, was named vice president of marketing and communications at the Los Angeles Times in April.
Those hires fueled speculation that Beutner was setting himself up for another political run, perhaps for governor of California, sources said.
Advertising revenue continues to fall for the Chicago-based newspaper company, which is seeking to bolster operations through acquisitions, cost-cutting and an aggressive digital transformation. The San Diego acquisition was driven by Tribune Publishing, but sources said leadership was not satisfied with Beutner’s execution on that strategy.
A former Wall Street investment banker, Beutner was co-founder of New York-based Evercore Partners in 1995. He moved to Los Angeles in 2000 as the company expanded and left soon after it went public in 2006.
In 2010, Beutner was appointed deputy mayor of economic development for Los Angeles. He explored a run for the mayor’s office the following year.
Before taking the reins at the Los Angeles Times, Beutner reportedly had been interested in buying the newspaper. In 2013, Tribune Co. (now Tribune Media) was considering the sale of its newspapers as a means to separate its publishing and broadcasting assets. Beutner and Los Angeles investor Eli Broad were among those looking at acquiring the Los Angeles Times, according to reports at the time.
Tribune Publishing was subsequently spun off, allowing Tribune Co. to off-load the newspapers while avoiding the large capital gains tax it would have incurred from an outright sale.
New Los Angeles Times publisher Ryan, a former Chicago Tribune executive, had been publisher and CEO of the Baltimore Sun Media Group since 2007, and also led Tribune Publishing’s Morning Call Media Group in Pennsylvania. A native of Rochester, N.Y., Ryan has an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.
“It is a privilege to lead the iconic Los Angeles Times and the San Diego Union-Tribune,” Ryan said in a statement. “I am committed to ensuring that these brands continue their legacy of world-class journalism and grow their already-significant voices to drive deeper engagement with consumers and marketers across all platforms.”
Ryan, who began his career at the Chicago Tribune in 1982, also served as vice president of circulation at the Philadelphia Inquirer for seven years. His most recent stint at the Chicago Tribune was as vice president of circulation and consumer marketing from 2005 to 2007.
