James (Jim) T. Brown

James (Jim) Thomson Brown is Vice Chairman of the 4,000 member Queen's Club in London, and former Executive Chairman of Newsquest plc.

Biography

Jim Brown started his career as a journalist with his home town newspaper in Ayr, Scotland. He then moved to Beaverbrook's evening newspaper in Glasgow where his reporting covered crime - this led amongst many stories to a still famous report where he got away with a notorious criminal(freed on a murder charge) that brought a riot between his supporters and others who wanted to get him outside the [http://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/justiciary/services.asp Glasgow High Court] . Other stories included major interviews with prime ministers Harold Macmillan and Alec Douglas-Home. He then moved to management with Thomson Regional Newspapers in 1966 and on his second spell with this company as managing director of their titles at Thames Valley Newspapers in 1985 he was one of the very first to break the unions by the introduction of newspaper technology. He had to face up to threats during this period of pioneering technology for Thomson's. He then moved in 1986 to Reed Regional Newspapers as chief executive of their Northern Counties Newspapers and in 1990 he was appointed chief executive of Reed's 125 regional newspaper titles.In December 1995 Reed announced that they were selling their regional titles - Brown as chief executive led a management buy-out with New York investment institution Kohlberg Kravis Roberts in support - for £205m. In 1996 with him now executive chairman and his company renamed Newsquest Media Group they defeated a rival bid from Mirror Group and Independent Newspapers to buy [http://www.wpress.net Westminster Press] from Pearson in a £305m deal. This acquisition doubled the size of the company to 250 daily and weekly titles including the Berrow's Worcester Journal founded in 1690. In September,1997 Newsquest confirmed a £500m stock market valuation. In June,1999 Newsquest, by then England's largest local newspaper company was the subject of a £904m takeover by American newspaper company,Gannett(they own USA Today)- thus quadrupling the investment of its backers. Gannett made a condition of the sale that Brown and his financial director, John Pfeil, remain in their positions with Newsquest. A series of acquisitions and launches followed: in July 2000 Newsquest bought Newscom's titles, including evening newspapers in Southampton, Bournemounth, Newport and Weymouth [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/1999/dec/11/2 Newscom rejects Gannet overtures | Business | The Guardian ] ] , and then in 2001 bought broadcaster David Dimbleby's family newspapers in Richmond and Twickenham. [ [http://www.ketupa.net/fleetstreet2.htm [] By then the group had grown to almost 300 regional daily and weekly newspapers in England and Wales. At the point of his retirement as Chairman of Newsquest they moved into Scotland with the purchase of the major daily titles "The Herald" and "Evening Times". He is still involved in newspapers as a non-executive director of Dunfermline Press, owners of [http://www.snpa.org.uk/clyde.htm Clyde and Forth Press] with local newspapers throughout Scotland and England.

A keen tennis player, Brown is Vice Chairman of London's 4,000 member Queen's Club. He was one of the three litigants who on behalf of the members legally brought about a successful £17m. price reduction members paid for the club when the LTA decided to sell the club in 2005. He was awarded a CBE ( Commander of the British Empire) for his services to newspapers in Decemnber 2003. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/3357011.stm BBC NEWS | UK | CBEs - full list ] ]

References