Full circle

Steve Rose, Publisher

Steve Rose, Publisher

This Oct. 8 will be the 10th anniversary of my sale of Sun Publications.

Since then, this newspaper company has had three owners and five publishers. Beginning this week, I have become the sixth. We have come full circle.

The turmoil has taken its toll, and at our Friday companywide meeting, there was wide applause to the announcement of my return as publisher.

That was flattering, of course, but let’s be honest. This also was an explosion of relief from being buffeted by change after change after change, much of which has been senseless and, at times, even stupid.

This is not to say that more changes are not in store. Already, some needed layoffs have taken place. The Sun faces the same challenges as every newspaper in America, mostly a decline in advertising due both to a recession and the competition of the Internet. Even The New York Times is struggling.

Indeed, it is a far different world from the one I knew 10 years ago. To be honest, I did foresee some of these external changes and without the deep pockets of a large chain, I decided it was time to cash out. No regrets.

Thankfully, Sun Publications has been owned since 2005 by a family-owned company with staying power. The News-Press & Gazette Co. of St. Joseph presides over an empire of 22 daily and weekly newspapers, television stations, radio stations and cable franchises.

I would not be saying what I am about to say if it were not true: The Bradley family from St. Joe and their associates are fully committed to Sun Publications and they intend to own it forever. They also are great people.

That is quite a contrast to the previous owners, who were New York financial buyers. After the sale in 1998, they made no bones about their goals. They stated them clearly. Their sole objective was to maximize profits and sell the company for a quick gain.

That narrow, short-term commitment resulted in brutal slashing that compromised the quality of our newspapers. Usually, there is a lag time, often years, before the long-term adverse effects are felt from ill-conceived decisions. They eventually were felt.

I cannot return Sun Publications to the glory days of 1998. No one can. And no newspaper will ever be able to recapture the past, as it was before the Internet boom.

But I can make our newspapers far better than they have become, both for our readers and our advertisers.

I will, of course, continue to write this column, which has been the one constant since the sale, due to a contract that protected it. And I also will continue to host “Talk Back Live,” a weekly program on our local PBS affiliate, KCPT-19.

What I will not continue to do is sleep a little later, as I have done occasionally, or take long vacations. Those are out, for now.

Along with co-publisher David Small, without whom I could not take on this major task, we have our hands full. And we will give it our all.

Give us a few months and then let me know how you think we are doing, by sending me an e-mail to srose@sunpublications.com.

I sure wouldn’t have written that in 1998.