Fwd: Bob Davis tapped as editor of The Anniston Star

[Andy Brack -- bettersouth.org]

greetings

thought you would enjoy seeing this about ThinkSouth blogger Bob Davis.

Andy

FYI
 

http://www.annistonstar.com/news/2006/as-anniston-0129-bcunningham-6a28v4721.htm
 
 
Bob Davis tapped as editor of The Anniston Star

By Ben Cunningham
Star Staff Writer
01-29-2006

The Anniston Star’s newsroom is under new management beginning today, as Editorial Page Editor Bob Davis assumes the title of editor.

Davis will be responsible for the The Star’s news, features and sports coverage, and also will retain responsibility for the paper’s editorial voice.

Executive Editor Troy Turner, who has been with the paper since 2000, is taking a leave of absence, Publisher H. Brandt Ayers said when he informed staff of the move Friday morning.

Davis said he’s excited about taking the reins of a newspaper that is held in high esteem by many in the industry. He said he hopes to help the paper live up to that reputation, particularly with readers.

“We do our best to tell the story of local people and how the world around them affects them,” Davis said. “I want to see us improve on what we’re doing.”

Davis said he wants to run a newsroom that is open and accountable to readers.

“We want readers to have an ability to question us about what we do,” he said. “I expect that everyone here, including myself, is going to have to answer them fairly.”

Ayers said Davis’ role overseeing both news and opinion is a return to the way The Star operated when he was the paper’s editor for much of the latter half of the 20th century.

“At a paper of this scale, that makes more sense,” Ayers said. “Firewalls between colleagues – all in the same room – is not the best use of talent.”

Ayers said political leaders The Star covered during that time frequently told him the paper was fair, whether it had endorsed them or not.

“That’s the gold standard,” Ayers said.

Ayers cited Davis’ ability to take criticism from any source, and his hungry reading habit.

“I can’t name a book he hasn’t already read,” Ayers said.

“I think The Star will be a better paper because Bob is here.”

Davis said news and opinion writers may have different missions, but both should approach their jobs the same way.

“There’s a sense of fairness we both are beholden to,” Davis said. “Those are not values that are at odds with how you tell the news.”

He also wants to see The Star push deeper into the digital age, making better use of new technologies, including the Internet, to deliver news to readers.

Davis has served as The Star’s editorial page editor since December 2003. Before that he spent 11 years in Texas at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a design editor and the Op-Ed/Sunday editor. Prior to that that he worked at two Georgia papers, the Cherokee Tribune and the Marietta Daily Journal as a news and sports editor. He is a 1987 graduate of the University of Alabama, with a degree in political science. He is a native of Aliceville.

Davis and his wife, Lisa, a freelance writer, live in Anniston with their children, Libby, 7 and Hugh, 4.

Turner said he’s enjoyed his time at The Star, five years that were critical for the community, with the beginning of chemical weapons destruction at the Anniston Army Depot, the cleanup of environmental pollution and a round of military base closures that threatened the area’s main employer.

“The Anniston Star has held hands with the community through it all,” Turner said.

Turner came to The Star as managing editor in November 2000, after working at newspapers in New Mexico and Colorado. He was promoted to executive editor in January 2003.

He began pursuing a master’s degree in history, with a focus on civil rights and foreign relations, at Jacksonville State University in 2004. He plans now to complete that degree and return to journalism, perhaps teaching college courses on the side.

“I know it’s making me a better editor,” he said of his higher education.

About Ben Cunningham
Ben Cunningham covers education issues and the city of Jacksonville for The Star.
 
 
Bob Davis
Editor
The Anniston Star
bda...@annistonstar.com
256-235-3591
Fax: 256-241-1991

______________
Andy Brack
Center for a Better South
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