LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Lexington Herald-Leader President and Publisher Timothy M. Kelly is retiring and will be succeeded by Rufus M. Friday, president and publisher of the Tri-City Herald in eastern Washington.
The moves, effective next month, were announced Friday by The McClatchy Co., which owns both newspapers.
Kelly, 63, joined The Herald-Leader in 1989 as executive editor and has been president and publisher for 15 years. The newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes during his tenure.
Kelly’s career began when he was 17 as a part-time sports writer for his hometown paper, The Daily Independent in Ashland. He became executive sports editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer by age 25 and has held leadership roles at the Dallas Times Herald, The Denver Post, the Los Angeles Daily News and The Orange County Register.
Friday, 50, became president and publisher of the Tri-City Herald in 2005 and before that worked as a circulation executive at The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., and Gannett Co. Inc.
