Register President Leaves for Publishing Post

John R. Schueler, president and chief operating officer of the Orange County Register, is departing the Santa Ana-based newspaper to become publisher of the Star Tribune in Minneapolis/St. Paul. He will move in mid-May to the Star Tribune, the nation’s 16th-largest daily newspaper and 12th-largest on Sunday. Schueler will succeed Joel Kramer, who is “following through on long-standing plans to pursue interests outside the newspaper industry,” according to a news release. The Star Tribune’s parent company, Cowles Media Co., was sold in March for $1.4 billion to Sacramento-based McClatchy Co., which publishes 24 newspapers, including the Sacramento Bee and Fresno Bee. Mike Lednovich, a spokesman for Freedom Communications Inc., which owns the Register, said Schueler’s departure “has nothing to do with any internal changes at the Register.” He noted that the Star Tribune is a larger newspaper, and Schueler will be assuming the top spot as publisher. Schueler, 48, is a 27-year newspaper industry veteran. He joined the Register in 1991 as vice president of consumer marketing/circulation and was named executive vice president and general manager the following year. He has held his current position since 1995.