A new captain at the helm of The Enterprise
Just over a month ago, the front page of our newspaper included the announcement that John E. Newhouse II has been named as the new publisher of The Enterprise.
He replaces Aubrey Webb, who will become publisher emeritus and continue to work on special projects for Hearst Corp., which owns The Enterprise.
Readers may wonder why that is front page news and just what it means to them.
It is front page news because the publisher of any community’s newspaper generally steps into a role as a community leader. Just as bank officers, refinery managers, and business owners play a leadership role, so too does the person at the helm of the town’s newspaper.
As to what it means to readers: It means there will probably be some changes. When a new leader joins a company, new eyes and new ideas bring about new ways of doing things, and sometimes even new products. A newspaper is no different.
That doesn’t mean readers should expect anything drastic. We aren’t going to print in smaller (or larger) type; we aren’t making the paper bigger (or smaller) and we won’t be changing to purple (or red, or blue) ink.
The changes the public might notice will come, but they will, most likely be fairly gradual. Those changes might not even be fairly credited to (or blamed on) the new publisher. Newspapers, like any successful business, change and adjust on a regular basis in an effort to continue to appeal to their ever-changing audience.
The bigger changes are more likely to happen within The Enterprise building, as our new leader learns more about our community and our newspaper and as it becomes his community and his newspaper.
In the meantime, watch and wait. Sometimes change is a good thing.
He replaces Aubrey Webb, who will become publisher emeritus and continue to work on special projects for Hearst Corp., which owns The Enterprise.
Readers may wonder why that is front page news and just what it means to them.
It is front page news because the publisher of any community’s newspaper generally steps into a role as a community leader. Just as bank officers, refinery managers, and business owners play a leadership role, so too does the person at the helm of the town’s newspaper.
As to what it means to readers: It means there will probably be some changes. When a new leader joins a company, new eyes and new ideas bring about new ways of doing things, and sometimes even new products. A newspaper is no different.
That doesn’t mean readers should expect anything drastic. We aren’t going to print in smaller (or larger) type; we aren’t making the paper bigger (or smaller) and we won’t be changing to purple (or red, or blue) ink.
The changes the public might notice will come, but they will, most likely be fairly gradual. Those changes might not even be fairly credited to (or blamed on) the new publisher. Newspapers, like any successful business, change and adjust on a regular basis in an effort to continue to appeal to their ever-changing audience.
The bigger changes are more likely to happen within The Enterprise building, as our new leader learns more about our community and our newspaper and as it becomes his community and his newspaper.
In the meantime, watch and wait. Sometimes change is a good thing.
posted by Sheila Friedeck at 8:56 AM
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