Patrick J. Purcell

'77, M.B.A.
President and Publisher, Boston Herald and Herald Media

On February 14, 1994, Patrick J. Purcell purchased the Boston Herald from Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation.

Purcell’s prior professional history includes the following:

In January, 1993, Purcell was appointed president & chief executive officer of News America Publishing, Inc. with responsibility for: TV Guide, the nation’s largest selling weekly magazine; Product Movers and Quad, the free-standing insert companies and Mirabella Magazine. In March, 1993 he was also named publisher of the New York Post. In addition to these responsibilities, he also continued his duties as publisher of the Boston Herald.

He joined News Corporation in 1980 as associate publisher of the Village Voice and then went on to become vice president of advertising sales for the New York Post. In 1984, Purcell was appointed president & publisher of the Boston Herald and in 1987 also assumed the additional responsibility of publisher of the New York Post. In January of 1990, Purcell was named president of News America/Newspapers with responsibility for the San Antonio Express-News and Boston Herald. Prior to joining News Corporation, Purcell worked for ten years at the New York Daily News.

In response to the constant need for qualified candidates in today’s job market, Purcell launched jobfind.com in July, 1996. jobfind.com allows people looking for employment free access to thousands of job listings on the World Wide Web. Users can apply for positions directly on-line. For companies looking for employees, jobfind.com is an affordable way to reach an audience of savvy, qualified individuals in a timely manner.

On February 1, 2001, Purcell’s Herald Media purchased the Community Newspaper Company from Fidelity Capital. This acquisition added 92 weekly, 4 daily and 3 Sunday newspapers and numerous specialty publications to Herald Media. Purcell sold Community Newspaper Company to GateHouse Media in May, 2006 and retained ownership of the Boston Herald, bostonherald.com and Women’s Business.

Purcell is on the Executive Committee of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. He is on the Board of Directors of the American Ireland Fund, The Genesis Fund and the United Way of Mass. Bay and on the Board of Overseers of the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Boston and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Pat is also a member of: Boston Better Business Bureau, Greater Boston Association of Retarded Citizens, Mass. General Hospital and the New England Newspaper Publishers’ Association.

In December, 1987 he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve on the White House Conference for a Drug Free America and in July, 1988 was appointed Chairman of BAD (Boston Against Drugs).

He has also received numerous awards including: Honorary Degrees: 1999 Honorary Doctorate Degree, Roger Williams University; 1997 Ellis Island Medal of Honor; 1992 Doctor of Humane Letters, Hofstra University; 1987 Doctor of Humane Letters, Suffolk University; 1987 Medal of Honor and Doctor of Laws, St. Johns University. Awards: Jewish National Fund’s “Tree of Life” award (1991); National Conference of Christians and Jews’ Man of the Year (1989); Greater Boston Assoc. of Retarded Citizens’ Man of the Year (1988); American Jewish Committee’s Man of the Year (1987); U.S. Dept. of Justice, FBI “Director’s Community Leadership Award.”

Purcell holds an MBA from Hofstra and a BBA from St. John’s University. He and his wife, Maureen, live in Weston and have four children and 5 grandchildren.