Editor's Notes: Thank goodness: My publisher really cares about people

I was sitting beside Publisher Pam Mox on Thursday night when the Green Valley News won a prestigious business award for sales and marketing and was a finalist for another prize based on the company’s employee friendly culture.

I have worked for more than 10 publishers in my 30-year career in journalism, some of the best and worst in the newspaper industry. At the awards presentation, I thought I was going to cry when she made her acceptance speech, thanking the staff and downplaying the hard work and determination she brings to the office every morning. (I didn’t cry, by the way, since crying in public and whistling in the newsroom bring bad luck in the newspaper business.)

As I watched Pam show the SASIE Award to her friends and associates, I figured out why she brings out the best in her employees. Since she hired me, I’ve felt valued every day. She routinely shares her experience, encourages creativity, praises achievement and builds confidence in the most- and least-experienced people on the staff.

In community journalism, Pam has a golden touch, understanding local readers and businesses better than anyone I’ve ever seen. She’s into building partnerships, not walls and barriers. Pam’s style is extremely rare in a business filled with oversized egos and unrefined blowhards. Collaboration is her middle name.

Five of the best publishers I’ve known were Jane Amari at the Arizona Daily Star, Otis Brumby at the Marietta (Ga.) Daily Journal, Richard Capen at The Miami Herald, Louis A. “Chip” Weil at The Arizona Republic and Frank Blethen at The Seattle Times.

Amari was asked to turn one of the most-stagnant newspapers in the country for its size into one of the best. She was successful by building a talented staff, approving extra space for stories, photos and graphics, understanding the Web and challenging the status quo. She proved record profits and quality journalism could go hand in hand. Amari is now publisher of the Arizona Range News, our sister newspaper in Benson, leaving after Pulitzer sold the Star to Lee Enterprises.

Many former colleagues will e-mail, asking to have my head examined for including Brumby. He underpays his reporters, editors and photographers and loves to criticize them. But he understood the importance of neighborhood news 20 years before anyone else. He opened a string of community newspapers in suburban Atlanta, filled with local names and pictures. The Atlanta Constitution laughed, scoffing at the importance of chicken-dinner news, until it started seeing its circulation erode, a slide it cannot stop.

Technically, I did not work for Capen at The Herald. I worked for the afternoon Miami News. But during my time in Florida, I saw The Herald struggle to figure out the largely Hispanic market. Capen shouldered the blame, admitting he had never eaten dinner with anyone of Hispanic descent. How could he understand his readers and community? He took Spanish classes and became fluent. I admired the take-charge decision and his willingness to change.

Weil invested in the community as publisher of The Republic. He created the newspaper’s “Season For Sharing” campaign, which has distributed more than $25 million to charities statewide since 1993. He believed newspapers should address problems, not merely report on them.

The Blethens sold 49 percent of its world-class newspaper to Knight-Ridder. It was a decision the family lived to regret. Blethen has held the banner high for family ownership of newspapers, refusing to sell and continuing to pursue impact journalism.

On the other hand, I have worked for some horrible publishers.

I worked for one who harped on the newsroom staff to improve its Readership Behavior Score, a key indicator of reader satisfaction. The statistic had dropped to its lowest point in company history, and the publisher was under pressure to improve or else.

The staff worked hard and posted one of the biggest gains in the chain’s history. We asked him to celebrate. He refused, saying, “The staff will turn lazy if we pat them on the back too much.” He didn’t trust his staff, his managers or his readers. And it showed in the newspaper’s extremely high turnover rate.

Luckily, Pam embodies the best qualities of every publisher I mentioned. She cares about people. She digs deep to analyze the community and its issues. She stays awake at night, sweating the small stuff. She wants us to have fun and celebrate success.

Because of her, the newspaper was honored by the Arizona Small Business Association with a SASIE Award.

Because of her, my co-workers look forward to coming to work and making a contribution.

For all of that, I say a heartfelt thank you to my humble publisher. And congratulations.

Contact Editor James Bennett at jbennett@gvnews.com or 547-9770. Respond by e-mailing letters@gvnews.com. Comment online at www.gvnews.com.