Knight Ridder went out of its way Thursday (Jan. 12) to knock down an LATimes report that chairman Tony Ridder’s two top lieutenants, Hilary Schneider and Art Brisbane, were seeking backers to finance a management takeover of the newspaper chain. KR issued its denial through reports in the Mercury News, Philadephia Inquirer and Editor & Publisher. KR also denied a report from CNBC that Gannett had made an offer and then withdrew the offer.