On the Move
Joplin — Dr. Chad Stebbins, who is set to become Missouri Press Association’s next executive director in January, was inducted into the Missouri Southern State University’s Regional Media Hall of Fame in November. He has been a professor at MSSU for more than 40 years.
“It’s a great honor and it’s overwhelming, and just pleased to have any recognition that might come my way. Coincidentally, I was on the selection committee for about 15 years, and I’ve introduced many of the recipients or inductees over the years — never thought I would be joining this exclusive club,” said Dr. Stebbins.
Joining Stebbins in this year’s class of inductees is Judy Stiles, former general manager of the university’s television station, KCGS, which also celebrated its own milestone of 40 years of broadcasting.
St. Louis — Erin Achenbach has joined Missouri Lawyers Media as a reporter. Achenbach was previously the executive editor of the St. Louis Call and covered Missouri politics at St. Louis Public Radio.
Replacing Achenbach as editor of The Call is Ellie Marshall. In Achenbach’s goodbye to readers, she wrote that the newspaper is in good hands with Marshall because of the latter’s “dedication and her journalistic integrity.”
Ozark — Leah Greenwood left the role of editor of the Christian County Headliner News at the beginning of November. She had been in the role since March 2022.
“Having grown up in Ozark, I have enjoyed the opportunity to connect with my hometown on a deeper level,” Greenwood told readers. “I have loved getting to serve and inform my community over the past few years, sharing the stories of Christian County.”
Prior to editor, Greenwood was the newspaper’s marketing manager and customer service representative.
Scrapbook
Bowling Green — The Bowling Green Times and the Louisiana Press-Journal — which previously shared county-wide news coverage — combined into a single publication, The Pike County News, in early November.
“As stewards of these historic newspapers, it was not an easy decision to combine them into one,” said R. Michael Fishman, president of Lakeway Publishers Inc. “Each paper individually has more than 140 years of dedicated service, covering the official business of Bowling Green, Louisiana and Pike County as well as the stories of the people who live there. But our responsibility isn’t to a name or a newspaper’s flag — it is to our mission, to our readers and to our employees. The legacy of these papers, a legacy of excellence in covering the news important to the people of Pike County, will continue.”
Fishman said there were several reasons for the change, including an evolving media landscape in which having two newspapers serving a single county isn’t fiscally practical.
For subscribers — online and in print — the only thing that will change is the name at the top of the front page. The Pike County News will offer the same coverage that was in the Press-Journal and the Times individually, but now in a combined edition.
Kansas City — The Kansas City Call Company has sold the Black community newspaper’s historic building in the 18th and Vine District. For almost 100 years, the African-American community had gone to the corner of 18th and Woodland to share news with reporters, place advertisements and hand off obits.
Three years ago, the The Call’s staff moved to a new storefront two blocks away. The former location is in need of significant repairs.
The company that purchased the building has a history of renovating existing buildings, including several homes. The former newspaper will represent the company’s largest commercial project to date.