MIAMI -- Richard G. Capen Jr., senior vice president of Knight-Ridder Newspapers Inc., has been named chairman and publisher of The Miami Herald, the newspaper group's flagship paper, it was announced Thursday.
The appointment of Capen, who will have overall responsibility for the Herald's business and editorial departments, becomes effective Jan. 1.
Alvah H. Chapman Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Knight-Ridder, made the announcement at a news conference at the Herald building.
At the same time, Chapman also announced the promotion of Herald general manager Beverly R. Carter to president and the retirement of executive editor John E. McMullan next June.
Carter, whose appointment also is effective Jan. 1, succeeds Chapman, who has been president of the The Miami Herald in addition to his corporate responsibilities. Carter will retain the title of general manager.
Referring to Capen, 48, Chapman said he was 'the person we want and who is anxious to take this job.' He said the corporation's board of directors endorsed Capen's selection earlier Thursday.
'I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to lead the flagship paper of Knight-Ridder,' Capen said.
He said he looked forward to working with McMullan during the six-month transition period. In answer to a question, he said, 'We have not addressed the question of who will be John's (McMullan) successor.'
Capen said he intended to participate as a member of the Herald's editorial board in the editorial direction of the paper.
Capen was a senior vice president for operation, director and member of the executive committee with the Copley Newspapers in La Jolla, Calif., before joining Knight-Ridder three and a half years ago.
From 1969 to 1971, while on leave from Copley, Capen served first as deputy assistant secretary of defense for public affairs and then as assistant for legislative affairs to then Secretary of Defense Melvin R. Laird.
When he moved to Knight-Ridder as a senior vice president in mid-1979, his first assignment was to oversee the business operations of the company's 17 middle-sized and smaller newspapers.
In 1981, he became senior vice president for operations, with overall corporate responsibility for all newspaper business operations, plus a number of non-newspaper subsidiaries.
Capen is a former chairman and member of the United Press International Newspaper Editorial Board.
James L. Knight, who with his older brother, the late John S. Knight, bought The Miami Herald in 1937, will relinguish to Capen the title of chairman of the paper. The elder Knight died in 1981.
'The opportunity to serve as chairman and publisher during a critical time of dynamic growth and change throughout south Florida is a challenge I welcome with enthusiasm and total commitment,' Capen said.
