Offer He Could Refuse

Did the new publisher of the Times Herald, Tom Johnson, do a little “sandbagging” to move up? Hard to say, but there can be little doubt the super offer he got from the Washington Star-News had Herald management jumpy.

Johnson, the 33-year-old whiz kid of Dallas newspapering, was named publisher of the Herald Jan. 6, only a few weeks after Houston banker Joe Allbritton, the new owner of the financially troubled Star-News, made Johnson “a fabulous offer” to take over the Washington afternoon daily.

Johnson turned down Allbritton’s offer because of a commitment to the Times Herald and its parent, The Times-Mirror Corp., publisher of The Los Angeles Times.

It had been rumored for some time that Johnson would be named Herald publisher, but the timetable set the promotion for March 1. There is no evidence that Johnson used the Allbritton offer to pry open the door to the publisher’s office sooner, but there is no doubt the Herald knew about the offer.

And if the move to the publisher’s chair after only 18 months with the newspaper isn’t enough to give a guy a feeling of security, there are bets the latest move is only the beginning for Johnson.

Officials at the very top of Times-Mirror Corp. have let it be known they see Johnson as their brightest young star. One of the nation’s best known journalists, who is close to the Times-Mirror organization, told us flatly, “I’d be willing to bet that in five or six years Tom Johnson will be heading the Times-Mirror Corp.”

You almost need a scorecard to keep up with the changes at the Times Herald, which have kept the rumor mill churning overtime. First, Times Herald President Robert Jensen resigned, reportedly after a showdown between him and Johnson. Then City Editor Bill Hankins was nudged aside in favor of Jim Baker, number two man at the Associated Press in Dallas. Now Robert Hol-lingsworth, vice president for administration, has been named general manager of the Times Herald.