
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, June 25, 1995                   TAG: 9506260080
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: MIAMI                                LENGTH: Short

NEWSPAPER EXECUTIVE DIES AT 59

James K. Batten, who dedicated his life to newspapers and the communities they covered and was one of the nation's foremost news executives, died Saturday from brain cancer. He was 59.

Batten, who joined Knight-Ridder Inc. in 1957 as a cub reporter at The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer and became the media giant's chairman 32 years later, was diagnosed with cancer last year.

``At his core, he was a journalist, one who believed passionately in the good that can come from a strong, free and prosperous press,'' said Knight-Ridder President P. Anthony Ridder, who took over as chief executive officer when Batten stepped down earlier this year.

Batten, a member of the board of directors of The Associated Press from 1984 to 1993 and vice chairman from 1992 to 1993, always emphasized quality journalism and public service.

Batten, born Jan. 11, 1936, in Suffolk, underwent surgery to remove a malignant brain tumor in July 1994. He had been undergoing chemotherapy and checked into Jackson Memorial Hospital on June 9 for treatment of an infection.

``Every person who touched Jim Batten's life was better for the experience,'' said Alvah H. Chapman Jr., Knight-Ridder's former chairman and one of Batten's mentors.

by CNB