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Newspaper staff rooted in Magnolia State
Published Wednesday, November 21, 2007
When Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote the lyrics to his famous “Sweet Home Alabama” he wasn’t talking to me.
It’s a great song, sure. But the lyrics don’t stir any great sense of down-home pride within me, for obvious reasons — I’m a Mississippi girl.
And believe it or not the overwhelming majority of editors, reporters and photographers that work in The Natchez Democrat’s newsroom could care less about Skynyrd’s anthem as well.
Contrary to popular belief, our office isn’t full of Alabama natives.
Yes, the company that owns our paper is based in Alabama. And over the years, we’ve had a few Alabamans come through our doors.
But we don’t hire exclusively Alabama residents. In fact, I’d personally rather have Mississippi or Louisiana folks, and I do the newsroom hiring.
When Mayor Phillip West mistakenly referred to our Publisher Kevin Cooper as an Alabama native in a recent Top of the Morning, I decided perhaps we’ve done a poor job of telling our readers about ourselves.
So here goes:
Aside from Kevin, who was raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi, the newsroom has seven employees who have no connection to Alabama.
I was raised in Oxford, and graduated from Ole Miss.
News Editor Luke Horton was raised in Decatur, and graduated from Mississippi State University.
Reporter Vershal Hogan was raised in Chodurant, La., attended Louisiana Tech and Louisiana College and married a Vidalia native.
Photographer Marcus Frazier was raised in Natchez and attended the University of Southern Mississippi.
Photographer Destiney Robb was raised in Natchez, attended the University of Louisiana-Lafayette, and married a Vidalia native.
Reporter Adam Koob was raised in New Orleans and graduated from the University of New Orleans.
Sports reporter Matt Burrowes was raised in Water Valley and attended Mississippi State University.
And we do have three employees with some Alabama connections.
Web Editor Ben Hillyer was born in North Carolina and has lived in a variety of states — one of which was Alabama. But he graduated from Mississippi State University. He married a woman born and raised in Natchez and has lived here for seven years.
Sports Editor Jeff Edwards was raised in Florence, Ala., but graduated from Mississippi State University.
And the only employee with true Alabama-itis is reporter Katie Stallcup. She was raised in Madison, Ala., and graduated from the University of Alabama.
In my first month of work for The Democrat nearly four years ago, I fielded the “So, I bet you are from Alabama” question countless times.
It’s a harmless question, and I don’t mind answering it. I’ve had several predecessors who were Alabama natives. And since our company owns many newspapers in our fine neighbor to the east, The Democrat does have recruiting contacts there.
But, we recognize the importance of hiring locally. Employees with Miss-Lou connections tend to stay longer, know more and have a head start in their jobs.
Our 10 newsroom employees come from all over the South. We have our college allegiances, just like all of you, and we remember the way things were in our hometown.
But right now, we live in the Miss-Lou. We work in the Miss-Lou. And we care about the Miss-Lou.
So maybe we should change Skynyrd’s lyrics a bit: Sweet Home Natchez.
It’s not very catchy; it won’t sell albums. But to us and most of you, it’s the truth.
Julie Finley is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at julie.finley@natchezdemocrat.com or 601-445-3551.
Comments
Posted by Crazynms (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 12:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good job Julie... You tell em
Posted by observer (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 1:07 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Glad to know you have Miss/Lou roots. One thing is glaringly absent. Does anyone with any standing at the Democrat hail from Natchez? Since the departure of Joan Gandy, a Natchez native, I would hope you have been searching hard to find a Natchezian to serve on the staff of the town's namesake newspaper. Surely there is someone from here who can write, take pictures and express opinions. Only when it incorporates a "hometown" perspective can the "Natchez" Democrat be said to truly reflect the town's history, heart and passion.
Posted by jch (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 6:54 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Great article Julie, some people can NEVER be pleased!! have to have something to cmplain about. I wish you and ALL the Democrat staff, whether Mississipi born or not a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and blessings from above.
Posted by reb1843 (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 7:37 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Good article, Julie. HOWEVER, please be advised that Lynyrd Skynyrd is not a "he," but the name of the group who sang the 'national anthem' of the South (next to 'Dixie' of course!)
By the way, I was born and raised in Natchez, but now call Texas home. However, my heart and soul will always be in the Magnolia State.
Posted by thecivilwardude (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 7:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
It is sad when you have to defend yourself simply because a few people see you as an outsider. We should be thankful that we have these talented people working at our local paper. Thanks for the editorial Julie. Also, as reb1843 said, you should credit Ronnie Van Zant, along with two others for "Sweet Home Alabama."
Posted by genlee (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I suspect the Mayor may have had Kevin Cooper mistaken for the Big Boss -- where is Todd Carpenter from and where did he go to school??
Posted by CHall1229 (Christina Hall) on November 21, 2007 at 8:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well done Julie. I think most people in town have thought over the years that the Democrat's staff was mostly from Alabama. The truth is that it shouldn't matter where anyone is from it's where they live and work now. Everyone at the Democrat lives in Natchez, pays taxes in Natchez and should be considered a Natchezian. Thanks for the good work.
Posted by dynagirl (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
boy, that's a lot of folks from State. I guess they have the best J-school within 1-200 miles </sarcasm>.
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 3:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So ...What you are saying is that all of the profits go out of state,the high paying job are people from out of town & low paying jobs are locals.That just dont sound rite Julie
Posted by wonderingirl (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 4:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Julie, I enjoyed your article, but it also gave me a laugh! As we have learned, you can live in Natchez, Ms. and vote in Vidalia, La. But if you live in Natchez and work for a Natchez newspaper and weren't born in Natchez, then you are considered "an outsider" who can't truly understand the way of life in this area. Now that is funny!!!
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on November 21, 2007 at 4:45 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You know even some families who have lived here for years and years are considered outsiders. The clique is the old families or old money.
But you know what, I have not met a "blue hair" yet that is any better than the rest of the Natchez citizens. In fact, other than being very "snutty" (or is that snotty), they do not have a lot to offer.
Now, bring it on if you disagree!
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 5:44 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on November 21, 2007 at 6:07 p.m.
(This comment was removed by the site staff.)
Posted by peacerulz (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 6:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
what the heck?????
Posted by peacerulz (anonymous) on November 21, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
oh no, she did'nt????? she thought that Lynyrd Skynyrd was one person. lol. she should have done some fact checking. would'nt have been that hard. next time google the name!!!!!
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on November 21, 2007 at 6:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, apparently I stepped over the bounds of decency!
That's OKAY! I have been known to do it before.
I am just glad that the Democrat is trying to keep the comment section on point and civil!!!!
Posted by shedevil (anonymous) on November 22, 2007 at 5:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well... I see we cant make a comment about the blue haired ladies on here.I kinda figured they ran the democrat anyway.
Posted by kcooper (Kevin Cooper) on November 22, 2007 at 7:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Actually, shedevil, you can comment about blue-haired people all day long, but you cannot say what you said about them (which I'll not repeat here) as it was reported as a violation of our terms of use policy.
Gemccull's comment was removed because his didn't make any sense once shedevil's was removed.
thanks.
Kevin.
Posted by peacerulz (anonymous) on November 22, 2007 at 1:22 p.m. (Suggest removal)
gemcull got deleted and it was'nt really bad, just did'nt make sense on it's own. That's funny. Thanks for the explanation. lol
Posted by CitizenSane (anonymous) on November 22, 2007 at 1:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Who are these blue haired ladies that some of you are referring to? Do they have names? If they are the ones running the town, I'd like to know who they are!
Posted by seavility (anonymous) on November 22, 2007 at 2:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lynyrd Skynyrd, the group, was actually from Jacksonville, Florida. Their song just ended up being an anthem which all the southerners can call their own. Unfortunately their Mississippi infamy stems from the plane crash that killed many of them in McComb in 1977.
Don't feel bad Julie. The Natchez hierarchical society has treated her own the same way forever. I'd be surprised if that ever changes. So, welcome to the club!
Posted by wonderingirl (anonymous) on November 22, 2007 at 2:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
To the staff at the Natchez Democrat : I hope you find yourselves surrounded by family and friends this Thanksgiving holiday no matter where you call "home"! Happy Thanksgiving to all the online readers, also!
Posted by freedom42 (anonymous) on November 22, 2007 at 4:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The blue haired ladies, also know as the blue haired mafia, are supposedly members of the Natchez and Pilgrimage Garden Clubs. For many years the garden clubs held Natchez together, brought in tourist dollars with the annual Spring Pilgrimage, and were "old money". Many people blame them for the lack of industries in the area, because most of the older ladies want to keep Natchez "pure". I guess that means like it was long long ago. I know the theme of the Pilgrimage for years was "Natchez: Where the Old South Still Lives". Anyway at one time they did run the town, or tried to, but I really believe those days are past. Most of the members are younger and hopefully wiser in the way the real world is today. I personally am grateful that they love Natchez so much and want the best for it - I guess their view of the best does'nt agree with what a large majority of people see as the best. I was snubbed as a teenager because my family didn't belong to either club, nor did I take dance or piano lessons. We were way to poor for that. But times change, and so do we. It never bothered me as a kid, it bothers me even less now that I am an adult. I go my way, they go theirs. and hopefully Natchez can benefit from both sides.
Posted by gemccull (Gary McCullars) on November 22, 2007 at 9:03 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Freedom42, I was trying to write a letter to the editor on this subject and you have taken away my "thunder".
My, my, I wish I was as elegant at writing as you are!
Posted by CitizenSane (anonymous) on November 23, 2007 at 9:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, if these blue hairs who started spring tourism in 1932 are still running things today...they must be doing it from the grave.
Seriously people. That was 75 years ago.
Furthermore, you can't blame the oil and gas bust of the 1980s on the garden clubs.
You can't blame the outsourcing of US industries to third world countries in the 90's and the 21st c. on the garden clubs.
You can credit the garden clubs and all involved in the preservation and tourism industry with the fact that Natchez is a national/international tourist destination.
This industry has carried us through thick and thin since 1932.
Yes, Natchez needs more than tourism, but not at the expense of tourism. We need to diversify our economy.
The fact that Natchez lags behind economically is more related to our poor school system and the lack of enterprise and civic-mindedness among our elected leadership.
There is way too much "me first" in Natchez at every level.
I think all this finger pointing at the phantom "blue hairs" and the "garden clubs" is just an avoidance tactic.
We need to be pointing the finger at ourselves. What are we doing to improve education? To insure that our kids are getting the best education and opportunity? Are we active in school politics and local politics?
Are we educating ourselves about the real issues facing our economy and demanding accountability of our elected leaders?
Are we sending a loud and clear message at the voting booth about what our prioriites are?
Or, are we just whining and blogging and blaming the phantom blue hairs.
City elections are coming up in the Spring. You have a chance to get new leadership in Natchez and set a new course for the future.
I don't know of any blue hairs who are running, so let's forget about the garden clubs and move on to the real issues.
thanks.
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