The owner and publisher of the Boston Herald, Patrick J. Purcell, has been named executive chairman of Ottaway Newspapers Inc. by his mentor and former boss, Rupert Murdoch, the Boston Business Journal reported Tuesday.

Ottaway Newspapers is a subsidiary of Dow Jones Inc., bought by News Corp. in December of last year. Meanwhile, Purcell will continue to own and manage the Herald.

Murdoch sold the Herald to Purcell after being unable to own it due to federal regulations. Prior to the sale, Purcell ran the Herald for Murdoch, according to the Boston Business Journal.

Ottaway Newspapers publishes community newspapers, and although it has sold some of its Massachusetts-based papers, it continues to run the New Bedford Standard-Times, the Cape Cod Times and a Nantucket weekly newspaper, the Boston Business Journal reported.