McClatchy clarifies: Pruitt's resignation from family trusts was his decision alone

From Editor and Publisher blog Fitz and Jen:

The McClatchy Co. Treasurer Elaine Lintecum just called to clarify some comments she made over the weekend about CEO Gary Pruitt resigning from the four McClatchy family trusts that control about 80% of the company’s voting stock.

In comments I picked up from Dale Kasler’s reporting for the flagship Sacramento Bee, Lintecum seemed to be suggesting the company was behind Pruitt’s decision to resign from the trusts as a matter of “improved corporate governance.” That’s not how this went down, Lintecum said Monday: “This was not a company decision, or a board decision -- this was totally Gary’s decision.”

Pruitt on his own decided “it was not a good idea to wear so many hats” as CEO and a director of the family trusts, she added.

Under the trust agreements, Pruitt had a right to name his successor. He chose Leroy T. Barnes Jr., a McClatchy board member since 2000, for the financial expertise he’s shown as a member of the board’s audit committee and for his good working relationship with other directors and McClatchy family members, Lintecum said.

Pruitt’s resignation, disclosed late Friday in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing, has sparked some speculation about the company going private. His presence on the trusts could raise issues of conflict with his CEO post if family members decided to take the chain
private. In the past year, it’s stock has plunged more than 80% as investors fled the newspaper sector generally and companies with high debt levels such as McClatchy in particular.

This clarification raises more questions. Why the secretive filing at 5:01 PM on Friday? And where is Pruitt, anyway? Why hasn't he made a statement since 8 McClatchy newspapers announced buyouts over the past few weeks? Why is McClatchy's treasurer, not Pruitt himself, getting this info out? The communication coming from McClatchy is confusing and dysfunctional. Who is in charge?