McClatchy Co. operations VP Weil to retire at midyear

Robert J. Weil, a longtime vice president of operations for The McClatchy Co., will retire at midyear.

Weil’s last day will be June 30, wrapping up a newspaper career that spans nearly 50 years, including 21 years with McClatchy.

As one of two VPs of operations, Weil oversees 13 markets in six states and their affiliated digital and print operations.

McClatchy President and CEO Pat Talamantes said, in a statement, that Weil has been “a terrific executive and a steadying influence as McClatchy has undergone tremendous change over the past several years. He helped usher in our digital future and never wavered for a moment in believing that McClatchy’s values and core news mission have critical roles to play in that future.”

Talamantes said McClatchy will develop a new organizational structure following Weil’s retirement. No successor will be named.

Weil, who will turn 65 in May, joined McClatchy in 1994 as publisher of The Fresno Bee and subsequently moved into senior management with The McClatchy Co., publisher of The Sacramento Bee.

From 1992 to 1994, Weil was president and chief operating officer for Persis Media, a privately held company with newspapers in Washington and Tennessee. Weil held other senior management positions with Persis and Gannett Co. from 1973 to 1992.

Weil began his newspaper career in the summer of 1967, working for his family-owned paper, The Times Herald in Port Huron, Mich.

This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 5:00 AM with the headline "McClatchy Co. operations VP Weil to retire at midyear."