By Don Coble, Senior Reporter
I tried retirement. It lasted about six months. When I got the opportunity to get back into the newspaper business at Clay Today, I jumped on it.
Turns out, it was the best – and one of the most challenging – things I’ve ever done.
When I got to Clay County, I didn’t know anyone. Even worse, I found a lot of people weren’t too receptive to me because of my connection with Clay Today. I quickly realized I was starting with a black slate, but I was willing to do the work to turn things around.
I’ve always believed that a community newspaper thrives by being part of the community. I don’t know the details, and quite frankly, they don’t apply to me, but things weren’t remarkably smooth between many corners of the community and this outlet.
I decided not to change anyone’s perception with words, but with action. How many times have our parents told us that actions speak louder than words?
The first six months were difficult because it was a struggle to find stories. It was hard enough because I was still learning the lay of the land, but very few were reaching out. But I never gave up.
SafetyNet was a great start. It got my foot in the door, especially with nonprofits and government groups. It’s where I started to mend a very fractured relationship between the sheriff’s office, the former sheriff and this newspaper. Again, not clear on the details, but you must maintain a professional and honest working relationship with everyone. They don’t have to like what’s being written, as long as it’s true and not personal.
When then-publisher Jon Cantrell and owner Hugh Osteen agreed to hire me, I thought I’d work another two years, then spend the rest of my time wiggling my toes on the beach. That was six and a half years ago.
Now, I have no plans to retire. A big reason for that is Kyla. She has pumped a new life into my career. She’s shown me a new way to look at things. I may be 68, but I still have juice.
Unlike six years ago, we’ve built something special here. Instead of scrambling for stories, now we’re on the constant run to keep up with stories. We’ve become victims of our own progress. Believe me, that’s not a complaint.
There are so many great things happening in this county, and we want to tell those stories. Years ago, we had to run around on deadline to look for stories to fill holes. Now we must decide which Clay Today-written stories make the print and online versions, and which only make the online version because we have too much copy.
The credit goes to our readers. You don’t always agree with what’s written, but you read. And you respond, which keeps this 68-year-old guy on the move.