PEOPLE : Times Mirror Appoints New Publisher at Newsday

Times Mirror Co. on Tuesday announced the resignation of Robert M. Johnson as publisher, president and chief executive of Long Island-based Newsday, citing “differences in business philosophy” between Johnson and senior management of Times Mirror, the parent of Newsday and the Los Angeles Times.

Johnson, 49, is succeeded by Raymond A. Jansen, 55, publisher and chief executive since 1990 of the Hartford Courant, another Times Mirror paper.

Steven L. Isenberg, currently deputy publisher of Newsday/New York Newsday, has been promoted to assume the additional responsibilities of publisher of New York Newsday, Times Mirror said.

Michael E. Waller, editor and vice president of the Hartford Courant since 1990, has been named publisher and chief executive there. Waller joined the newspaper in 1986.

“We are fortunate to have someone with Ray Jansen’s experience and leadership ability to succeed Bob at Newsday and are equally pleased that Mike Waller, who has functioned splendidly as editor of the Courant, will succeed Ray as publisher,” Donald F. Wright, senior vice president for Times Mirror’s Eastern newspapers, said in a statement.

Jansen, a Long Island native, worked 22 years at Newsday in advertising and sales management before moving to the Courant in 1982.

Jansen said in an interview Tuesday night from his office in Hartford, Conn., that Times Mirror would “absolutely not” retreat from its support of New York Newsday, which since its 1985 founding has been engaged in a struggle against entrenched competition in New York City. Backing away from New York “is not even open for discussion,” he said.

During his tenure in Hartford, Jansen “reduced operating costs significantly during an economic downturn, without layoffs, and the Courant won its first Pulitzer Prize,” Wright said.

Johnson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. A Newsday spokeswoman said that a confidentiality agreement between him and Times Mirror would bar his discussing the circumstances of his departure.

* Warner Bros. Records officially named Danny Goldberg to replace Mo Ostin as its chairman and chief executive, effective Jan. 1, with Val Azzoli assuming Goldberg’s former job as president of Atlantic Records. The moves are part of an ongoing shake-up at Time Warner’s music operations. Ostin’s deputy Lenny Waronker was originally designated to be the next chairman but last week turned down the job. (A Q & A with Goldberg appears in today’s Calendar section.)

* Edward S. Contant, a former managing director of the Los Angeles office of the Marsh & McLennan insurance brokerage, has relocated to New York to become executive vice president of North American retail operations for Minet Group, the huge London-based international insurance and reinsurance brokerage.

* Exxon Corp. announced the appointment of Ansel L. Condray as president of its Exxon Co. U.S.A. division effective Jan. 1. Condray, currently executive vice president of that company, succeeds Harry J. Longwell, who was appointed senior vice president of Exxon Corp.

Condray is also expected to be elected a vice president of the parent company. Exxon U.S.A. is responsible for Irving, Tex.-based Exxon’s oil and gas operations, other than exploration, in the United States.