L.A. Times writer Joseph Menn writes that the shareholder battle for control of Knight Ridder is also a referendum on the management style of CEO and Chairman Tony Ridder, who desperately wants his company to remain independent but has been unable to keep its stock price high enough to satisfy major institutional investors. Ridder, 65, a resident of Woodside, “is known for his love of expensive cars and vacations,” Menn writes. “He received $4.6 million in total compensation last year — down 41% from 2003 — ranking 63rd among CEOs of California’s 100 biggest public companies.”