Changes At the Helm At&T And

The Gannett Co., the nation's largest newspaper publisher, and AT&T, the leading provider of long-distance telephone service, last week named new chief executive officers. The change in command at Ma Bell had been anticipated, but the timing of the Gannett switch came as a surprise.

When Gannett shareholders trooped into the Capital Hilton ballroom in Washington last week for the company's annual meeting, they expected a lively session. Only one day before, Gannett had agreed to buy Louisville's Pulitzer Prize-winning Courier-Journal and Times for about $300 million, outbidding both the Washington Post Co. and Chicago's Tribune Co. Within the past year, the Arlington, Va.-based media giant had acquired two other major newspaper companies that had come up for sale: the Detroit News and the Des Moines Register (total price: $917 million). "It's a little like winning the Triple Crown," Gannett Chairman Allen Neuharth had declared after the Louisville deal.

Neuharth, who has led Gannett for the past 13 years, took the podium in Washington and said in a trembling voice, "I want to introduce Gannett's new boss." President John Curley, 47, would be taking over that day as chief executive officer, Neuharth explained. The announcement caught some seasoned Gannett watchers off guard. Still, it will probably not signal a complete change in corporate leadership. Neuharth, 62, will retain his title of chairman, and promised to be "very active" in that role, supervising long- term corporate strategy and acquisitions. Said Neuharth: "I love this company. I'm not going away."

A graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism, Curley, like Neuharth, began his career as a reporter for the Associated Press. He joined Gannett in 1969 as suburban editor of the Rochester Times-Union and rose quickly, becoming company president in 1984. Said Neuharth of his successor: "He's a reporter who knows how to pay the rent."

Both men are expected to keep Gannett on its current course of aggressive expansion. Including last week's acquisition of the Louisville papers, which had been owned by Kentucky's Bingham family for the past 68 years, Gannett now owns 93 newspapers with a combined circulation of more than 6 million. While some experts believe that Gannett has paid too high a premium for some of its recent purchases, the company can afford a bit of extravagance. Last year Gannett earned $253 million on revenues of $2.2 billion.

Still, the firm's flagship publication, the four-year-old USA Today, is far from being a financial success. While its circulation is a robust 1.4 million, the paper attracts little national advertising. As a result, analysts estimate, it lost $85 million before taxes last year, bringing the total since the paper was founded to some $340 million. Nonetheless, Neuharth remains confident that it can be turned around. Curley probably shares that optimism. One reason: he was USA Today's first editor.

AT&T

Goodbye, Charlie Brown, and hello, Jimmy Olsen. No, Superman's pal Jimmy is not taking Charlie's place in Peanuts. Rather, James Olson, 60, was last week named the new chief executive of AT&T, succeeding Charles Brown, 64, who will retire. "The new AT&T is confidently launched on its new course," said Brown. Declared Olson: "Never have I been more challenged."

Of such homilies are corporate succession speeches made, but despite the rhetoric, Olson inherits a troubled company. To be sure, AT&T is earning record profits in its traditional business: providing long-distance phone service. The company has an 80% share of the $41 billion market. But profits from rentals of residential phone equipment have fallen from $200 million in 1984 to $150 million last year. Moreover, the communications conglomerate is losing an estimated $950 million a year in its computer- and telephone- equipmen t divisions. AT&T launched its computer group with great expectations after the breakup of the old telephone monopoly two years ago.

As chief executive, Olson will probably move to cut costs. Analysts expect that some savings will come from integrating AT&T's long-distance division with the company's computer and equipment group. While AT&T eliminated 24,000 positions last year, merging the two units would almost certainly lead to further job cuts.

Olson also plans to emphasize service as much as products. Said he: "We will be a company that is easy to do business with." Still, some analysts remain skeptical. Says Fritz Ringling, who follows the company for the Gartner Group, a Stamford, Conn.-based consulting firm: "Olson has his work cut out for him. AT&T's problems run deep and cannot be cured by simply changing the name tag on the chairman's door."

Both Brown, a 42-year AT&T veteran, and Olson, with 43 years of service, are classic company men. Brown's first job was digging ditches for phone cables; Olson began by cleaning underground manholes. Neither executive has worked for any company other than AT&T. Over the years, the two men have adopted different styles of management. Subordinates describe Brown as a reserved and somewhat austere boss who tends to delegate authority. Olson, on the other hand, is said to be more direct and personable. He describes himself as "by nature, a hands-on manager.

Only hours after being named to his new post, Olson made his first mark. He announced that AT&T would petition the Federal Communications Commission to increase the company's most recent proposed long-distance rate cut to an average of 11.8%, by far the largest in its 101-year history. If approved, the new charges would take effect on June 1. AT&T's new boss, like its old one, clearly wants to keep Ma Bell's lock on the lucrative long-distance market.