It looks like MediaNews chief executive Dean Singleton (pictured) will personally manage the newspapers he owns and will soon acquire in the Bay Area. A story in Saturday’s Contra Costa Times by Geoge Avalos said that Fred Mott, publisher of the Alameda Newspaper Group, has “left” the company, and will be replaced by Singleton. Avalos said MediaNews had no comment Friday on the reasons for Mott’s departure. Mott started at ANG in December 2005 after retiring following a 26-year with Knight Ridder. Mott replaced John Schueler, who was ANG publisher for 14 months, from July 2004 to September 2005.

Singleton’s decision to appoint himself as publisher is consistent with the report in May that he planned to buy a second home in the Bay Area, while maintaining his main residence in Denver, because he planned to spend a lot of time here. “The newspaper industry is undergoing a monumental sea change, and we hope to make the Bay Area a model for what our industry’s future will be,” Singleton said in the statement.

The CCTimes story indicated that Singleton will keep his other jobs as chief executive officer and vice chairman of MediaNews. ANG includes the Oakland Tribune, San Mateo County Times, Fremont Argus and other Bay Area newspapers. MediaNews’ acquisition of Knight Ridder’s CCTimes, Mercury News, Palo Alto Daily News Group, Monterey Hearld and other assets is supposed to close in July.