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March 28, 2006: Pioneer Press publisher Par Ridder looks ahead
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St. Paul Pioneer Press Publisher Paul Anthony (Par) Ridder has presided over the newspaper since 2004. The lanky, energetic 37-year-old son of Knight Ridder Chairman and CEO P. Anthony (Tony) Ridder talked about life at the Pioneer Press since the family put its empire on the sales block last year, then sold earlier this month to Star Tribune parent company the McClatchy Co. Today, bids are due on the 12 papers McClatchy put back up for sale, including the Pioneer Press.
Q - Does your family's long history with the Pioneer Press make this newspaper's sale particularly painful?
A - I would say sad. My great-great-grandfather started a company that eventually became the second-largest newspaper company in the country. Now, after 114 years and five generations, it's going away. So that's very sad. But it's the company that's going away, not an industry. Whether my name is on the side of the truck or not, I'm still committed to the newspaper business.
Q - Given the paper's flagship status in the family, did you, your father, and your uncle Charlotte Observer Publisher Peter Ridder discuss buying the Pioneer Press yourselves?
A - No.
Q - So there will be no bid on any of the 12 papers submitted by the Ridder family.
A - Speaking for myself, I don't know who the bidders are going to be tomorrow.
Q - Do you think there's a qualified buyer locally?
A - I don't know. I think there's a lot of interest here in the Pioneer Press' future. The St. Paul Chamber told me it can't recall another issue that got so much attention from members and got them so engaged as the future of the Pioneer Press.
Q - What would be the best possible ownership scenario for the Pioneer Press?
A - I'm not taking sides on it.
Q - How do you keep your employees focused in the midst of such uncertainty?
A - This is a difficult place to publish a newspaper, with a major competitor 11 miles away, so all of us at the Pioneer Press are used to dealing with difficult situations. Despite that, in 2004-2005 our operating profit increased 31 percent. We are up 6.7 percent in advertising revenue so far in 2006. On the circulation side, we are increasing the number of subscribers - we did last year and we'll do it again. So I think people are just focused on putting out a great newspaper. The ownership question will take care of itself.
Q - How do you respond to people who say that the market isn't big enough to support two large dailies?
A - I'm not aware of a market quite like the Twin Cities. Researchers tell me that the Twin Cities has the highest Sunday readership of all the top 20 markets in the country. It is well-educated, it's wealthy, and it has the highest percentage of voters every election. All those things team up for a great newspaper market, and that's part of the reason that the Twin Cities has been able to support two strong, healthy newspapers for a long time and will continue to support two strong, healthy newspapers.
Q - What are the chances that you will remain publisher after the paper is resold?
A - My family loves it here, and I hope I get to stay, but that's a decision the new owner will make.
Q - You were obviously being groomed to take over the family business. What will you do now that the family business has gone away?
A - I'm 28 years from retirement, and I plan to spend all 28 of them in the newspaper business.
Deborah Caulfield Rybak - 612-673-4996
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