Gary B. Pruitt (born c. 1957) is an American attorney and businessman, previously serving as the President and CEO of the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

. He previously served as the CEO, president, and chairman of the board of

McClatchy The McClatchy Company, commonly referred to as simply McClatchy, is an American publishing company incorporated under Delaware's General Corporation Law and based in Sacramento, California. It operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states and ...

, an American publishing company that operates 29 daily newspapers in fourteen states.

Early life and education

Pruitt was born in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and raised in

Satellite Beach, Florida Satellite Beach is a coastal city in Brevard County, Florida, U.S. The population was 11,346 at the 2020 United States Census, and it is located with the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Indian River to the west. Satellite Beach is part of t ...

. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, Masters of Public Policy from

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

, and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

from the

UC Berkeley School of Law The University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (commonly known as Berkeley Law or UC Berkeley School of Law) is the law school of the University of California, Berkeley, a public research university in Berkeley, California. It is one of 1 ...

Career

Pruitt was counsel for

from 1984 to 1987, corporate Secretary and General Counsel from 1987 to 1998, publisher for ''

The Fresno Bee ''The Fresno Bee'' is a daily newspaper serving Fresno, California, and surrounding counties in that U.S. state's central San Joaquin Valley. It is owned by The McClatchy Company and ranks fourth in circulation among the company's newspapers. I ...

'' from 1991 to 1994, general counsel from 1987 to 1991, and Vice President for Operations and Technology from 1991 to 1994. He was Chief Operating Officer from 1995 to 1996. He became President starting in 1995, Chief Executive Officer in 1996, and Chairman in 2001. In April 2012 it was announced he would become CEO of the Associated Press.

Kevin McClatchy Kevin S. McClatchy (born January 13, 1963) is the chairman of McClatchy and former owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates baseball team. He led a group of investors that purchased the team in 1996, and served as the team's CEO and lead owner until 200 ...

assumed his chairman of the board role and

Patrick J. Talamantes Patrick J.Talamantes (born c. 1966) was the President and CEO of the McClatchy Company from May 16, 2012, until January 25, 2017. He was replaced by Craig Forman. Early life He was born and raised in Sebastopol, California, where he attended ...

assumed the CEO role. He is a former chairman of the

Newspaper Association of America The News Media Alliance (formerly known as the Newspaper Association of America until 2016 James Irvine Foundation The James Irvine Foundation is a philanthropic nonprofit organization established to benefit the people of California. The foundation's grantmaking focuses on a California where all low-income workers have the power to advance economically. The fou ...

, and a former vice chairman of the

Board of Directors. He serves on the Advisory Board of the USC Annenberg School Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pruitt, Gary 1957 births Living people University of California, Berkeley alumni UC Berkeley School of Law alumni People from Satellite Beach, Florida University of Florida alumni McClatchy people American chief operating officers Associated Press people American chief executives in the media industry Satellite High School alumni