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newspaper publisher of the year
ORAGE QUARLES III PLAYS STRICTLY BY THE RULES AND MAKES SURE ALL HIS EMPLOYEES AT THE NEWS & OBSERVER IN RALEIGH, N.C., DO THE SAME. THAT DISCIPLINE HAS HELPED THE MCCLATCHY DAILY MAINTAIN ITS NUMBERS IN HARD TIMES BY MARK FITZGERALD
Ask anyone who knows him and they'll tell you that Orage Quarles III is a stickler for the rules. Of course, his main job as president and publisher of The News & Observer in Raleigh, N.C., is to inspire and implement McClatchy Co.'s vision for a great regional newspaper. And in just two years, he has accomplished much along those lines: Circulation is up. So is household penetration. The paper's longtime reputation for quality remains intact, but now it is also known for its financial and managerial efficiencies. And it has become a national model for diversifying newspaper workforces.
Yet Quarles always has time to focus on the smaller things at the N&O. Its parking fees, for instance. Or its policy about smoking in front of the building (you can't), or its dress code (no blue jeans and no shorts, Casual Fridays or not). "He likes people to follow the rules," says the paper's executive editor, Anders Gyllenhaal, who notes that Quarles pays close attention to how employee-handbook policies are enforced. "It's a source of some humor around here, but only to a point."
There is one exception, Gyllenhaal adds: "The one rule he doesn't respect is the speed limit." Quarles sheepishly cops to the accusation with a laugh. "I've got a little lead in my foot," he admits. This is, after all, a man who celebrated his 50th birthday a year ago by racing around the Charlotte Motor Speedway at 145 miles per hour.
But then, Quarles has been on the fast track for the past decade and a half. Since 1987, when Gannett Co. named him publisher of the Fort Collins Coloradoan, Quarles has hopscotched the nation, taking the helm of ever-larger papers. He became publisher of The Record in Stockton, Calif., then moved from Gannett to McClatchy Co. to become president and publisher of, first, The Herald in Rock Hill, S.C., then The Modesto Bee in California; then, since January 2000, president and publisher...