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Nine million users daily Formed in 1974 by the merger of two of the top three newspaper groups, Knight Newspapers and Ridder Publications, Knight Ridder is the nation's second-largest newspaper chain, publishing 31 daily papers in 28 markets, and boasting a daily readership of nine million people and a Sunday readership of 12.6 million. Today, the chain's papers include leading regional dailies such as The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Miami Herald, the San Jose Mercury News, the Detroit Free Press, The Kansas City Star and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Techno Ridder Over the years, Knight Ridder newspapers have won 75 Pulitzer Prizes, but the company doesn't merely focus on content. In its 25 years, Knight Ridder has established a reputation as a newspaper chain willing to take technological risks. In the late 1970s, the company broadened its scope from print to television with the acquisition of several broadcast stations, and with the formation of TKR Cable in 1981. And in 1993, the San Jose Mercury News became the first newspaper in the world to place its entire contents on the Web. The chain now maintains online city guides published by each of its newspapers that include news, classified ads, entertainment listings and telephone listings. In 1998, expecting even more of its profits to come from new media ventures, Knight Ridder moved its corporate offices to Silicon Valley from Miami. Additionally, in March 2000, the company transferred all of its Internet operations to KnightRidder.com, a separate business division. However, not all of Knight Ridder's high tech ventures have panned out. In 1998, facing declining profit expectations, the chain sold the electronic and financial information service it had created in 1983. Labor/management clashes In 1994, P. Anthony Ridder took over Knight Ridder as CEO, the first family member to head the company since its 1974 merger-creation. Like many other newspaper chain executives, Ridder instituted a series of cost-cutting projects and divestitures of unprofitable ventures. And, as with other newspaper chains, Knight Ridder has experienced some trauma because of these changes. In 1996, employees of The Detroit Free Press, along with workers at The Detroit News, owned by Gannett, went on strike to protest the restructuring of those papers. The strike lasted for two bitter years before workers agreed to return to work. Summer 2000 saw an agreement between the company's San Jose division and unions in the California city. And get rid of that hyphen! Now, Knight Ridder is trying a bit of corporate and image revamping. It has a new slogan - "Information for Life" - and has even dropped the hyphen between the two words in its name in the belief that the move will increase its brand strength. Also, Knight Ridder has recently formed a joint purchasing consortium with The New York Times Company. Acquiring on the Web In July 2000 Knight Ridder teamed up with Tribune Co. to acquire and combine job sites CareerBuilder Inc. and CareerPath Inc. CareerBuilder cost the publishing companies $300 million; details of the CareerPath transaction were not released.
Applicants should find out about the various publications and positions in which they are interested and address a resume and cover letter to the department in charge of that position. The headquarters in San Jose, California will provide information as to where and to whom to address resumes at specific divisions. For the editorial staff, an insider says "they tend to look for creativity, a desire to follow tasks through the end, and a willingness to be flexible in what it takes to be successful." Knight Ridder lists editorial and non-editorial vacancies (finance, human resources, etc) in separate sections on its web page, www.kri.com
A superlative experience Most employees speak in superlatives about their experiences about working at Knight Rider, calling it the "best," "great," and that they "couldn't see working anywhere else." One news editor cites "total freedom" as a high priority at the Knight Ridder publications, and adds that "not all newspaper chains are like that." Despite the fact that the company's CEO is "bottom line oriented, upper management is liberal; Big Brother isn't breathing down employees' necks." Not I-banking, but good pay Though pay in the newspaper industry tends to be less than in, say, investment banking, Knight Ridder pays "very well." In some cases, they even pay school tuition for those in the company who wish to pursue a graduate degree. Stock options are also available to those at the managing editor level and above. Says one contact: "Knight Ridder is a major Fortune 500 company always ranking toward the top in terms of corporate culture and employee focus. The benefits are top notch, as are the general working conditions." Knight Ridder has "a strong corporate commitment to individual development." Attractive benefits include career education for employees who wish to change their career track, and college tuition assistance for dependents of employees. Leadership development The company has an annual Leadership Development Review, or 'LDR', where employee strengths and weaknesses "are reviewed against a group of skills that KR has identified as key for future leaders." These LDRs are forwarded to Knight Ridder's corporate offices and kept on file, "so that they can keep track of the progress and development of managers who have been identified as "high potential." With regard to diversity in the workplace, Knight Ridder's commitment to fair treatment is no joke. The company requires "diversity training" for its employees and prospects for women and minority employees are good; several of the company's vice presidents are women and/or minorities. Six of the 57 top editors are minorities and there's even an assistant VP of diversity. "You would be hard pressed to find a company that has such a diverse group of employees," one source says. One employee describes the workers as "just like the people you knew in school: Some are inspired, some aren't. Some work hard, some don't. Some are good looking, most of us aren't." The woes of the mega corp. The drawbacks to working for a company as large as Knight Ridder are common to any large corporation: pressure to meet profit goals and the consequent threat of layoffs are potential pitfalls. Still, a contact says: "KR does have a reputation in the industry as the best parent company to work for." Just look out for "old technology and lack of vision about technical opportunities." 9 to 5 in spirit only For business-type jobs at Knight Ridder, employees sport "business dress" from Monday through Thursday and "casual days" on Fridays -- "no jeans or sneakers, however." The hours are 'officially' 9 to 5, but employees tend to work longer. For editorial employees at one of Knight Ridder newspapers, the hours tend to be "less formal and more flexible than most office environments since the focus is on getting the job done and not on the 9 to 5 work ethic." Says one editor: "When I was a small child my parents dropped me on my head and ever since, I have wanted to stay up all night and sleep until noon. So I am in the right business."
Human Resources
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