James K. Batten, 59; Former Head of Knight-Ridder Newspapers

James K. Batten, one of the nation’s foremost news executives, died Saturday of brain cancer. He was 59.

Batten, who joined Knight-Ridder in 1957 as a cub reporter at the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer and became the media giant’s chairman 32 years later, was found to have cancer last year. Knight-Ridder owns 29 daily newspapers, including the Miami Herald and the Philadelphia Inquirer.

“At his core, he was a journalist, one who believed passionately in the good that can come from a strong, free and prosperous press,” said Knight-Ridder President P. Anthony Ridder, who took over as chief executive officer when Batten stepped down earlier this year.

Batten helped lead recovery efforts after Hurricane Andrew, which devastated parts of South Florida in 1992. “Loving our communities, warts and all, is not something most of us were taught growing up in the newspaper business,” he once said. “But getting close to your community and your readers is an essential part of the job.”