Publisher of Ga. weeklies takes helm of National Newspaper Assn., gives a good journalism pep talk

Robert Williams

Community newspapers are the only true mass medium in thousands of markets nationwide, newly elected National Newspaper Association president Robert Williams Jr. said as he took office at the end of the group's 127th convention Sept. 15 in Phoenix. "Be an advocate for community newspapers. Be an advocate for NNA," Williams said. "Newspapers are notorious for being slow to publicize ourselves. Now is the time, however, for us to pull together, to unite for the good of our industry. . . . We are a mirror of our communities, but you can't see a reflection in the dark. Newspapers have to provide the light. It is hard for a community to rise above the quality and commitment of its local newspaper. Good newspapers build strong communities."

Williams is publisher of SouthFire Newspaper Group, which owns six weekly newspapers in Georgia, including The Blackshear Times, whose motto is “Liked by many, cussed by some, read by them all.” He reflected that sentiment during his speech, saying "Thank you for being veterans in the war against secrecy and lies and greed. It takes little courage to write about a stranger among thousands or millions in a metropolitan city, but it takes tremendous dignity, daring and fortitude to write about the woman who sits in the next pew with you at church … or the man who sits across from you at Rotary. You do it week after week with sensitivity and caring and fairness and accuracy. Thank you for that."

He also spoke about changes in the newspaper business, many of them brought on by advances in technology. "Community newspapers are embracing the use of digital media as one more tool in an effective arsenal for information that reaches more people in the markets we serve than anyone else," Williams said. "And social media?? We were 'social media' before social media was cool," publishing social notes from far-flung and isolated rural communities.

"Newspapers are successful because of journalism!" Williams declared. "Every newspaper depends on good business management and great ad sales, but none of it would ever happen without good journalism." He said readers are smart enough to know when a paper only cares about its financial needs. "I cannot tell you an exact date, but I can tell you a benchmark when the public’s view of newspapers’ began to change. ... It was when newspapering quit being a profession and became an investment. Newspapers have become profitable businesses and have lasted to become the oldest business in most communities, not because we are such great business minds ... not because we make so many friends — we don’t." For the text of Williams's speech, click here.