Name: Edmund Shelby

Birthday: October 18,1948

Newspaper: The Beattyville Enterprise

Position/Title: Editor/GM

How long held: Five years

Duties, responsibilities of position: Make money for Nolan Newspapers by putting out weekly newspaper.

Previous professional experience in and outside of newspaper industry: Hazard Herald News Editor; public relations for GTE Corp.; public information for state of Kentucky.

Education: BA in journalism from Morehead State University

Family: Wife, one son, three grandchildren (triplet boys)

Civic Clubs/Organizations: None

Goals for KPA: Improve health of Kentucky newspapers

Views on future of newspapers: Eventually all electronic, but not as soon as some might think.

What is the best advice you can give for successfully operating a community newspaper? Print the truth.

Name: John Mura

Birthday: Oct. 16, 1953

Newspaper: The Courier-Journal

Position/Title: Multimedia Manager

How long held: 11 months

Duties, responsibilities of position: Oversee Courier-Journal.com, which entails: 1) Making sure the site always has fresh content and is being aggressively managed. 2) Directing the creation of dozens of new digital products each year. 3) Ensuring that pages on the site get redesigned as needed. 4) Growing the video capability of the newspaper. 5) Working with news editors to create digital platforms for enterprise projects. 6) Oversight of the print/digital photo operation. 7) Planning for the future platforms of mobile and text messaging.

Education: B.S. Communication, Saint John’s University

Family: Wife – Janine, Daughter – Christiane, age 9

Civic Clubs/Organizations: Board of Directors of the University of Louisville Cardinal, Active parishioner St. Patrick Church, member Knights of Columbus.

Goals for KPA: Work with members to facilitate the transition from print to digital.

Views on future of newspapers: We are in a transition period where we need to protect and enhance the franchise while preparing to meet future users’ needs. I’m bullish on the future of newspapers as media companies who supply news and information as a trusted brand.

What is the best advice you can give for successfully operating a community newspaper? Whether it’s print or online, people will always want the same basic things: Names and faces. Do that with integrity and you’ll always have a market.

Name: David Dixon

Birthday: May 18, 1954

Newspaper: The Gleaner, Henderson.

Position/Title: Editor

How long held: Became editor Jan. 1, 2007, after about 25 years as managing editor.

Duties, responsibilities of position: Responsible for all aspects of editorial department and editorial product. Keep lines of communication and cooperation open with other departments. Be here for readers.

Previous professional experience in and outside of newspaper industry: Started as reporter at The Gleaner in 1976. Previous newspaper experience as student working at Mt. Vernon, Ind., Democrat and briefest of stints at Indiana Daily Student, Bloomington, Ind.

Education: Bachelor of Arts, English, Indiana University, Bloomington, Ind.

Family: Married to Christi Graham Dixon and have two grown sons, Jesse Dixon of Lexington and Neil Dixon of Henderson.

Goals for KPA: Continue to provide support in all areas to Kentucky’s newspapers, especially in these rapidly changing times.

Views on future of newspapers: I’m probably more optimistic than many. I believe the printed product will survive for many years to come and our electronic editions will steadily grow — both in terms of readership and revenue. However we deliver the information we gather, edit and package, it will continue to play an important role in the life of our communities.

What is the best advice you can give for successfully operating a community newspaper? Be accessible and listen. Surround yourself with the best people possible. Keep repeating: Change is good.

Name: Willie Sawyers

Birthday: June 30, 1958

Newspaper: The Sentinel-Echo, London.

Position/Title: Publisher

How long held: 9 years

Duties responsibilities of position: Responsible for the editorial, circulation and business operations of a 9,700 circulation tri-weekly newspaper in Southeastern Kentucky.

Previous professional experience in and outside of the newspaper industry: Willie began his journalism career in 1980 as a reporter for the Corbin Times Tribune. His first management position came four years later when he took over two newspapers in Southeastern Kentucky. In 1989, Willie started his own newspaper in his hometown of London. His paper was purchased by CNHI in 1998 and two papers were merged into The Sentinel-Echo, which has won the “Best of CNHI” non-daily award three out of four years.

Education: Studied journalism and communications at Eastern Kentucky University, 1976-1980.

Family: Wife, Mary, married 29 years; son: Matt, 28; daughter: Amanda, 26; daughter: Lindsay, 23

Civic Clubs/Organizations: Member of the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Press Association, Leadership Tri-County and the London-Laurel Chamber of Commerce.

Goals for KPA: More of the same. KPA has done an excellent job of representing and supporting our newspapers through the years. It is a model of what a state press association should be and is one of the best in the country. KPA needs to stay on top of the issues facing newspapers and be ready to provide the same level of representation, support and strategic planning.

Views of future of newspapers: I’m very upbeat about the future of community newspapers. The reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated. But we have to concentrate on local coverage. In some issues of our newspaper, I’ve counted more than 100 photos of local residents. This is the type of coverage that cannot be found online. Community newspapers are very profitable and important franchises. They will remain so as long they concentrate on giving readers news and information about their community that they cannot get anywhere else.

What is the best advice you can give for successfully operating a community newspaper: Become like a giant oak tree growing in the middle of town. Stretch your roots into every corner of the community. Let those roots feed and nourish you so you can grow even stronger. Being firmly rooted in a community means taking a stand on issues, applauding positive developments and leading by example.

Name: Mike Alexieff

Birthday: Aug. 5, 1959

Newspaper: Daily News, Bowling Green

Position/Title: Managing Editor

How long held: 6.5 years

Duties, responsibilities of position: Supervise a newsroom of 24 employees.

Previous professional experience in and outside of newspaper industry: City editor, the Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro; news editor, Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times; copy editor, The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman; editor, Kingman (Ariz.) Daily Miner; state editor/environment and politics reporter, The Prescott (Ariz.) Courier; editor, The Kerrville (Texas) Mountain Sun; district/campaign press secretary, U.S. Rep. Mac Sweeney, R-Texas; news editor, the El Campo (Texas) Leader-News; reporter, the Cuero (Texas) Record.

Education: Bachelor of Journalism, The University of Texas at Austin

Family: Wife Angie, son Stephen, 8; daughter Grace, 7.

Civic Clubs/Organizations: Board member, Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center

Goals for KPA: Help newspapers through training and information, both in getting the product out and adapting to the changing world of journalism.

Views on future of newspapers: There will always be jobs for reporters, editors, photographers and videographers. My prediction is that eventually the blogosphere’s fans are going to realize that only professionals can consistently provide trustworthy information. How long will the printed product last? 20 years, if we’re lucky. The big problem in my mind is how to pay for the resources (reporters, editors, etc.) in a Web only world.

What is the best advice you can give for successfully operating a community newspaper? Local, local, local. Support worthy causes and endeavors, expose wrongdoing and help guide the community forward.

Name: Melissa Newman

Birthday: 1-17-1967

Newspaper: The Times-Tribune

Position/Title: Advertising Director

How long held: 2.5 years

Duties, responsibilities of position: Creating revenue-producing ideas, budgeting, seven employees.

Previous professional experience in and outside of newspaper industry: I have been the publisher of three weekly newspapers – two in Kentucky and one in Ohio – before that served as managing editor for a weekly in Barbourville and a tri-weekly in Bardstown before that served as a journalist and section editor. I started my career as a writer at the Times-Tribune many years ago and I have now returned as the advertising manager. I oversee five outside sales representatives and two inside. The first few years of my career were spent in editorial and then the rest in bottom line positions.

Education: undergraduate business major - English with an emphasis on journalism form Union College in Barbourville.

Family: Husband: Frank Newman; two daughters, Brittani -- a junior at the University of the Cumberlands -- pre-law; and Brooke -- a freshman at Union College -- social work.

Goals for KPA: To represent all newspapers whether they are weekly, daily, metro or community to the best of my ability -- and to listen, learn and deliver decisions for the betterment of all newspapers.

Views on future of newspapers: In not so many years, I've seen newspapers transform from paste-up to pdf and from darkroom to totally digital. We may have made these changes kicking and screaming -- but we made them. It's now time for us to make other changes. Our competition is thinking globally and we have to make that transition as well -- yes, I'm talking about the World Wide Web. We have a delicate balance to achieve. We have to make those changes without forgetting about our loyal readers from our local communities -- they are the reason we are still here -- they believe we are the most reliable and trusted news source. We need to keep it that way, globally and locally.

What is the best advice you can give for successfully operating a community newspaper? Remember we exist to inform. We lay information before our readers so they, as informed individuals, can make up their own minds. We are not here to make decisions for them. Always, always remain unbiased. Our readers do know the difference.

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