USA Today president tapped to lead AP

The Associated Press Board of Directors announced Friday that Tom Curley, president and publisher of USA Today, center, would succeed Louis D. Boccardi, right, as president and chief executive officer of the world’s largest news organization, effective June 1.

Burl Osborne, left, chairman of the AP board of directors and publisher emeritus of The Dallas Morning News, said Curley, who is 54, would move to AP headquarters in New York in a few weeks. Boccardi, 65, will retire after 18 years as leader of AP’s worldwide operations, half of his 36-year AP career.

Curley has been president and publisher of USA Today, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper, since 1991.

Telecommunications: Sprint sets CEO’s salary

Gary Forsee, new chief executive officer of Sprint Corp., will be richly compensated for his decision to return to the telephone company from rival BellSouth.

Forsee, 52, will paid at least $2.75 million in salary and bonuses this year, according to a filing Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

His base salary will be $1.1 million a year under the contract, which runs through Dec. 2, 2007. Forsee made $713,000 last year at BellSouth, where he was vice chairman and head of domestic operations.

Newspaper: J-W seeks comment on stock listings

The Journal-World is considering changes in the way it presents listings of stocks, mutual funds and information on other financial markets. We would like to hear what type of information you want and need. In the past we have tried to provide listings for a wide variety of companies and funds of local interest, based on what we’ve heard from our readers.

Please let us know if there are companies or funds you would like to see in the Journal-World’s listings. If there are other features you’d like to see, we’d like to hear about those, too.

Send your suggestions to Managing Editor Richard Brack at rbrack@ljworld.com or by mail at Lawrence Journal-World, P.O. Box 888, Lawrence, 66044.

Bankruptcy: US Airways wins ruling

A federal judge on Friday gave his final approval to US Airways’ termination of its pilots’ pension plan, clearing the way for the airline to emerge from bankruptcy protection next week.

The pension issue had been the last hurdle to the airline emergence. On Friday morning, the Federal Pension Benefit Guarantee Corp. gave its approval to the pension plan, and U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Stephen Mitchell approved it Friday afternoon.