Ventura Newspapers’ Editor Irby Resigns

The editor of the Ventura County Newspapers chain resigned suddenly Thursday, citing philosophical differences with management.

John R. Irby said he was disappointed by his sudden departure, but declined to comment further. His resignation is effective immediately, Irby said.

A replacement for Irby has not been announced. The newspaper chain’s publisher, John P. Wilcox, was not available for comment.

Irby was hired as editor of the Ventura County Star-Free Press in September, 1992. A year later he was named editor of the Ventura County Newspapers chain, supervising the editorial content of the Star-Free Press and its Camarillo and Oxnard editions, the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle and the Simi Valley Enterprise.

His resignation is the latest in a series of management changes in the chain, which is owned by the Ohio-based Scripps Howard newspaper group. Before Irby’s arrival, the Star-Free Press editor was John Bowman, who has since resigned from the chain.

The chain’s daily newspapers have undergone several changes since publisher Wilcox arrived last year. Coverage of local news has been shifted to pages deeper inside the main section, the price of home delivery has been increased and, two weeks ago, the Star-Free Press and its editions changed their names to “The Star.”

The Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks papers also added “The Star” to their mastheads. One source said Irby and Wilcox had clashed over some of the changes, particularly Wilcox’s decision to move most local news deeper inside the paper.

Irby has more than 23 years of experience in the newspaper industry. He was editor and publisher of the Tulare Advance-Register for two years and was managing editor of the Bakersfield Californian for six years, among other posts.

Irby, 45, who lives in Ventura, said he does not have any immediate plans. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he said. “I’ll probably take a couple of days to play a little golf and think about it.”