BUTLER NAMED EDITOR OF DAILY NEWS.

Byline: Daily News

David J. Butler, a veteran newspaper editor who most recently edited Connecticut's second-largest daily, the New Haven Register, on Monday was named editor of the Daily News, Larry T. Beasley, Daily News president, CEO and publisher, announced.

Butler replaces Robert W. Lund, who had asked to shift his duties so he could concentrate on areas that are his primary specialty and interest, including editorial technology, production and finance.

Lund was named manager of editorial operations and finance and will work closely with Butler and other editors in refining and expanding the Daily News' strong local news, sports and business coverage.

Beasley said that Butler and Lund, coupled with other Daily News editors, give the newspaper ``a tremendous team of experienced professionals dedicated to serving readers.''

``Dave Butler brings to the Daily News a special ability to produce newspapers that connect with readers,'' Beasley said.

``As an editor, Butler has specialized in local news coverage in some of the most competitive markets in the country, including Denver, South Florida and Connecticut,'' Beasley said. ``His experience at metropolitan newspapers, as well as medium-size papers, gives him a broad base of knowledge and a unique perspective on how best to serve readers.''

Butler, 46, said he is ``pleased and excited to join the Daily News' talented news team. I hope to bring fresh perspective and renewed intensity about news coverage.''

``Our primary goal remains the same - to be the essential provider of local information and news, providing the best local news coverage of all the valleys in the Daily News circulation area,'' Butler said. ``We will become an even more vital part of our readers' lives, creating a stronger personal bond.''

Associates describe Butler as an intense, activist editor who sees his role as being an advocate for readers.

``I think editors need to be out in the community talking with everyone; reporters, editors, readers - leading the newspaper in providing compelling coverage that is in touch with peoples' lives,'' he said.

Beasley said the experience, depth and skill of the editorial team underscores the Daily News' commitment to an ever-improving newspaper.

For the past eight years, Butler was editor of the 100,000-plus circulation New Haven Register, which is located in Yale University's hometown and serves 38 communities in Connecticut. He joined the newspaper as executive editor in 1988 and was promoted to editor a year later. The Register went on to be named best Sunday newspaper in New England for its size and its sports section was named one of the 10 best in the country, among other awards.

In recent years, Butler also oversaw the news and editorial operations of 21 weekly newspapers in Connecticut purchased by the Register's parent company and an electronic edition of the Register similar to the Daily News' offering on America Online. He also served as a corporate consultant on news and editorial matters to other newspapers for the Register's parent, which owns 18 dailies and hundreds of weeklies in the Northeast and Midwest.

For five years during the 1980s, Butler directed city, suburban and regional news reporting as well as business, feature, entertainment and Sunday coverage at the Rocky Mountain News in Denver in one of the country's fiercest newspaper wars. The Rocky Mountain News, then with a circulation of nearly 400,000, took a commanding lead over The Denver Post. The Post was owned by Los Angeles-based Times Mirror during that time and was sold in 1987.

In the late 1970s, Butler was an editor in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where he developed news coverage in the highly competitive area of south Palm Beach County. He also was named managing editor in Jacksonville, Florida, and earlier held a variety of editing and reporting jobs at newspapers in Kentucky and Illinois.

Butler, a native of Illinois, is married. He and his wife, Kate Lee Butler, have no children.

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