Par Ridder

Par Ridder is General Manager of the Chicago Tribune Media Group with overall responsibility for news, opinion and business functions for the Chicago Tribune, six additional dailies, Chicago Magazine and 33 weeklies across the metropolitan area.

Ridder has worked in the newspaper industry for most of his career and has been with Tribune Publishing since 2017. In his previous role as SVP/General Manager he had responsibility for the Virginian Pilot and Daily Press as well as corporate oversight for print circulation. Ridder has also served as CEO and Publisher of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Publisher of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Publisher of the San Luis Obispo (CA) Tribune. Prior to Tribune Publishing, he was Publisher of DNAinfo.com, a local news start-up based in Chicago and President of Clear Channel Outdoor Chicago.

Ridder began his newspaper career in middle school, as a paperboy for the San Jose Mercury News. After college, he sold advertising at The Washington Post, and worked for the Akron Beacon Journal and the Contra Costa Times in various circulation, sales and management roles. Ridder earned a B.A. in political science from the University of Washington and an M.B.A. in general management from the University of Michigan.