Freedom Communications names Mitchell Stern as president, CEO

Freedom Communications names Mitchell Stern CEO

IRVINE, Calif. — Media company Freedom Communications, which emerged from bankruptcy protection last month, said Tuesday it has named Mitchell Stern as president and CEO.

Stern, 54, currently a board member at Freedom, earlier served as the CEO of DirecTV’s U.S. division and as chairman and CEO of Fox Television Stations Group.

He replaces Burl Osborne, a newspaper industry veteran who became interim CEO last June and will stay on as a director.

Freedom, based in Irvine, owns The Orange County Register and dozens of other newspapers, along with television stations and news and entertainment websites. The privately held company filed for bankruptcy protection last September amid steep advertising declines. It emerged last month, after creditors led by JPMorgan Chase cut its debt by nearly 60 percent to $325 million in return for control of the company.