Robert W. Decherd

Robert W. Decherd

Robert W. Decherd is Chief Executive Officer of A. H. Belo Corporation. A. H. Belo Corporation owns and operates The Dallas Morning News, Texas’ leading newspaper and winner of eight Pulitzer Prizes; the Denton Record-Chronicle; The Providence Journal, the oldest continuously-published daily newspaper in the U.S. and winner of four Pulitzer Prizes; and The Press-Enterprise, serving southern California’s Inland Empire region and winner of one Pulitzer Prize. A. H. Belo owns and manages various Web sites associated with the newspapers, as well as certain niche products, direct mail and commercial printing businesses.

A. H. Belo’s newspapers and related assets were spun off in February 2008 from Belo Corp., which Decherd led as CEO for the prior 21 years. Decherd has worked for A. H. Belo Corporation and Belo Corp. since his graduation from Harvard College in 1973. During his years as Belo Corp.’s CEO, the Company grew in revenue from $397 million to $1.6 billion. Net income grew from $20 million to more than $130 million. The Company’s three major newspapers and 20 television stations, including six in the top 14 markets, have won 13 Pulitzer Prizes, 25 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards, 22 George Foster Peabody Awards and 38 national Edward R. Murrow Awards.

Decherd has played a significant role in the newspaper and television broadcasting industries, and in freedom of information organizations. He has served on the boards of the Newspaper Association of America and the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas, which he helped found, as well as being appointed to Presidential and FCC commissions concerned with television industry issues.