Hearst to Quit Publishing Job at S.F. Examiner

William R. Hearst III, grandson of the founder of the Hearst newspaper chain, will leave his post as publisher of the San Francisco Examiner early next year, newspaper officials said today.

Hearst, 45, is joining Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, a prominent San Francisco Bay area venture capital firm. He will remain on the Examiner board of directors.

The Hearst organization in New York is sending Lee J. Guittar, 63, to oversee the paper, said James Hale, president of the San Francisco Newspaper Agency, which runs the business end of the Examiner and San Francisco Chronicle under a joint operating agreement.

Guittar served as president of USA Today and the Detroit Free Press, as well as publisher of the Denver Post and Dallas Times Herald, before joining the Hearst organization as group executive in 1986.

Hearst has run the Examiner for 10 years. His departure comes a month after a two-week strike at the two papers.

Hearst said he is “looking for new worlds to conquer” and is interested in becoming involved in fledgling technology firms.

“In the near future, technology will make possible new forms of media and I hope to play a part in developing businesses that will explore these opportunities,” he said.

Hearst noted that the firm he will join was an original investor in several electronic information delivery ventures including America Online, Electronic Arts and 3DO.