Gary Pruitt
» BA POLITICAL SCIENCE ‘78
Under Gary Pruitt’s leadership, The Associated Press has continued its long legacy of fighting for press freedom and the public’s right to know. As the 13th president of AP, Pruitt manages the independent news cooperative headquartered in New York City, with teams in over 100 countries covering everything from breaking news to investigative reporting. Two years into his term, Pruitt received the Constitution Project’s 2014 Champion Award for his work defending the United States Constitution's First Amendment. His work also earned him the First Amendment Award from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation.
Prior to AP, Pruitt was chairman, president and CEO of The McClatchy Company, the third-largest newspaper publisher in the U.S. During his tenure, McClatchy’s operations covered 30 daily newspapers, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning Miami Herald and The Sacramento Bee. A First Amendment lawyer by training, Pruitt steered McClatchy toward financial diversification and oversaw the robust growth of its digital revenue.
Pruitt serves on the advisory board of the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy. He is a former chairman of the Newspaper Association of America and James Irvine Foundation and a former vice chairman of the Associated Press Board of Directors.