Tribune Publishing, a division of Tribune Company (NYSE:TRB), today announced that Timothy R. (Tim) Kennedy has been named president, publisher and chief executive officer of The Morning Call in Allentown, Pa., serving Lehigh Valley. Kennedy has served as vice president/strategy and development for Tribune Publishing since 2001, directing strategic planning and key growth initiatives for the publishing group. He will assume his new duties immediately.

“Tim is a talented executive who is extremely familiar with the important issues facing the newspaper industry,” said Kathy Waltz, Tribune Publishing group vice president, who oversees The Morning Call. “He’s a proven leader and gained hands-on experience in his group role, where he helped expand our local publishing businesses.”

Kennedy said, “The Lehigh Valley is an exciting place to be and The Morning Call is a wonderful newspaper. Fifty percent of adults in the area read the newspaper daily and our websites and new print products, like Merge, are growing rapidly. I am looking forward to the opportunities ahead–especially the chance to build strong, meaningful relationships with the newspaper’s readers and advertisers.”

Since joining Tribune in 1994, Kennedy has held positions of increasing responsibility with the company. He’s evaluated opportunities to build Tribune’s publishing and interactive businesses, had responsibility for negotiating financial and structural terms for investments and acquisitions, and also recently served as interim chief operating officer of Hoy, the company’s Spanish-language newspaper in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

Kennedy holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Western Michigan University and a master’s degree in business administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.