Stanford Provost to Join Register’s Parent Company

Stanford University’s provost will become president and chief executive officer of the Orange County Register’s parent corporation in mid-April, it was announced Monday.

Freedom Newspapers Inc. said its board of directors has approved the appointment of James N. Rosse to replace President and Chief Executive Officer D.R. (Bob) Segal, who plans to retire April 15.

Rosse, 60, a former economics professor, is a highly regarded expert on media economics. He is frequently quoted in articles addressing problems in the journalism industry, including the merits of merging competing newspapers.

“He knows what makes (newspapers) tick, and how and why, and he knows a great deal about marketing,” Segal said. “He has worked for virtually all of the big newspaper companies at one time or another.”

Besides the Register, Freedom Newspapers owns the Anaheim Bulletin, the La Habra-Brea Daily Star-Progress, 24 other dailies and 16 weeklies. The company also owns five television stations and Orange County NewsChannel, a 24-hour all-news cable channel.

Before joining Stanford in 1965, Rosse (pronounced Ross) worked on newspapers in Minnesota and Nebraska, Segal said. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Minnesota on newspaper economics, according to Segal.

Rosse’s father, a newspaper editor, evidently triggered his interest in the written word.

“He grew up knowing the business as a young man,” Segal said.

Rosse could not be reached for comment Monday.

Freedom, with about 6,500 employees, espouses a Libertarian philosophy that advocates minimal government. Segal said Rosse agrees with the company’s bent.

“Some of the major principles which we believe are the same as Jim’s beliefs,” Segal said. “We’ve known him for some time and know generally how he thinks about things. . . . I assume we largely agree on basics.”

Rosse has wrestled with Stanford’s $43-million budget deficit but also supervised a $1.2-billion fund-raising campaign.

Stanford’s budget expenditures have been the subject of a national controversy after Department of Defense auditors claimed the school may have overbilled the federal government by $230 million in research overhead costs between 1980 and 1988.

Stanford, which has repaid $2.3 million for such items as flowers and parties, has strongly challenged most of the DOD’s claims.

Stanford President Donald Kennedy has said he will resign in August. The beleaguered school is now looking for both a new president and provost.

Rosse’s number-crunching expertise may come in handy as the newspaper industry faces its worst advertising slump since the Depression.

Industrywide, ad revenues this year are only expected to increase between 1% and 3%, less than the projected inflation rate.