Sunday, December 28, 1997

Getting to know a new community

By James Denley

As Abilene residents begin a new year, I begin a new job at the Reporter-News. I hope we have fun getting to know each other.

My wife Barbara and I are in the process of settling in. We've made a couple of visits, and we hope to own a house by mid-week. Barring unforeseen holiday delay, our furnishings will arrive in a week or so.

So far, we've sampled restaurants from Perini Ranch and Cypress Street to the Saturday morning brunch at IHOP. We have attended church, played a few hands of bridge, shopped at the mall and downtown and driven about the community, only becoming lost a time or two. We have tested the airports here and in Dallas and Midland. And we have asked a few dumb newcomer questions, such as why the streets flood after a half-inch rain. As soon as we work through relocation, we look forward to visiting museums, touring the base and the colleges, attending plays and concerts and exploring various aspects of community life.

You had a chance to get to learn a bit about me in the announcement of my appointment as editor. I'm a third-generation newspaperman. My father owns a small weekly in north-central Mississippi that has been in the family since 1912. After graduation from the University of Mississippi in 1969, I joined the staff of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, working my way from intern reporter to assistant managing editor. I moved to Birmingham, Ala., in 1982 as managing editor of the Post-Herald, becoming editor and president two years later.

The purchase of the Reporter-News and other Harte-Hanks newspapers by Scripps this fall opened the way for my move to Abilene.

You haven't heard much about Barbara -- yet. She's fresh from a two-year term as president of the Birmingham chapter of the League of Women Voters. She has worked as a volunteer supporting churches, museums and symphony orchestras. She also enjoys playing duplicate bridge.

We have two adult children. Bryan, who graduated from Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn., in 1995, is working in retail in Philadelphia, Pa. Tanya graduated from Smith College in Northampton, Mass., in the spring. She is working with a Presbyterian church in Cleveland, Ohio, this year and is considering studying at a seminary next year.

I strongly believe that a newspaper must serve its community as well as its readers, and I am impressed by the tradition of public support at the Reporter-News. In Birmingham, I was active with the United Way, Chamber of Commerce, Literacy Council, Red Cross, university and arts support groups, economic development organizations and community leadership programs. I will be looking for an organization where I can help make a difference here -- but I also will be concentrating on fitting into the newsroom in my first months.

In the past, I've been approached from time to time by an organization interested in changing the image that the group or the community projects. My first advice always has been to change yourself first and you will find that your image follows. A newspaper can help by showcasing success stories, but it rarely can gloss over problems for long without endangering its credibility. The Reporter-News credo --"‘Without or with offense to friends or foes, we sketch your world exactly as it goes"' -- and that of Scripps Howard --"Give light and the people will find their own way" -- provide excellent guideposts.

One of the major roles of a newspaper is to reflect its community. You can help by assisting as I get to know Abilene and surrounding counties and by providing feedback on how the newspaper is doing.

I also ask that you keep me and other Reporter-News staff members posted on happenings that are of importance to you. You can reach me at 676-6705, by fax at 670-5242 or by e-mail at denleyj@abinews.com.

I will share my views from time to time in this forum, but I will try to refrain from burdening you when I don't have anything to say.

I wish you and yours a prosperous and rewarding new year -- and I look forward to getting to know as many of you as I can.