NATION : Arizona Republic Publisher Resigns

PHOENIX — Pat Murphy, publisher of the Arizona Republic and the Phoenix Gazette, resigned today. His statement did not cite a reason.

Murphy, 59, had been publisher for three years and had spent 14 years before that on the Republic staff. The president of the Indianapolis company that controls the newspapers said a search for Murphy’s successor will begin immediately. Central Newspapers Inc. is owned by the Pulliam family and includes Vice President Dan Quayle as one of its owners.

Murphy took an active role as publisher, describing maverick Republican Gov. Evan Mecham as a brutish, ideological juggernaut even as Mecham attacked the newspapers and their reporting. Mecham, who was ousted by a Senate Court of Impeachment last year, called Murphy’s departure “good news” today, adding: “I hope they can rebuild a little credibility to the newspaper.”