Former AP Chairman Named Interim CEO At Freedom

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Newspaper and TV station owner Freedom Communications Inc. named an interim CEO Wednesday, tapping the former publisher of The Dallas Morning News and former chairman of the board of The Associated Press.

Burl Osborne will take over in July for Scott Flanders, who is leaving after 3 1/2 years in the job to lead a troubled Playboy Enterprises Inc., whose television and magazine businesses have been hit by shifting consumer habits in the digital era.

In a statement Wednesday, the chairman of Freedom's board, Thomas Bassett, called Osborne an "exceptional leader who combines outstanding business acumen with depth of experience in the newspaper industry." ...