We're taking a personal approach to the interview series this time. We're talking with current employees who have worked at The News-Gazette the longest to find out what it has been like to work at the paper.
This week I sat down with the publisher of the paper: Matt Paxton. Having familial ties to the paper, it's no surprise that he's been working here the longest, 46 years. Although he is the son of the previous publisher and editor, he didn't start out at the top of the organization. His various jobs within the paper, as well as his educational background, gave him the skills needed to handle the complicated and weighty position as publisher. Not only does he devote himself to the well-being of the paper, but he also creates a thriving work environment where employees enjoy the work they do; as evidence by the previous interviews in this series.
Why did you come to work at The News-Gazette?
That's kind of an interesting story because I didn't really think about coming back to work for the paper when I was growing up. My dad was the editor and publisher. He never put any kind of pressure on me or even brought it up as a possibility that I can remember. I think he wanted me, if I was interested in it, to come to that decision myself. But it was his non-family member partner who got me to come back. We were having lunch one day. I was working in Lynchburg at a bank. He asked me one day, did I ever consider coming back to work for the paper? And I said, 'well, I didn't really enjoy writing.' He said, 'well son, there's a lot more to do with the newspaper than the writing part.' So I came back on the business side. I started off as an ad salesperson and then became the ad director. Then, when that non-family member partner was ready to retire, I took over his job as the business manager.
What made you stay here instead of looking for another job?
I like what I do. I've always enjoyed doing this and I love living where I grew up. It's a wonderful place to live and raise a family. I just never thought about moving anyplace else. And I like being my own boss.
What kind of education or work background do you have that helps you do your job?
Oh, that's an interesting question because I didn't go to journalism school. I was an economics major in college. I think my liberal arts education was probably the best preparation, aside from one course that I did take in college. That was accounting, basic accounting, which has been extremely helpful. Beyond that, the broad spectrum of knowledge and the promotion of curiosity that a liberal arts education affords, I think is probably the best background I could have gotten.
What are three things you love about working at The News-Gazette?
Number one is the people that I get to work with and have gotten to work with over the years. We've had some fantastic folks, and lot of people that I stay in touch with, who've worked here and have moved on to other things.
The second thing is that every day is something new. That's one of the perks of working in the news business. Every day you're covering things that are new, things that are right on the cutting edge of what's happening in our community.
I guess the third thing is the ability it's afforded me to stay here in the place I really love.
Do you have a favorite funny story from working here?
One of the funniest stories happened years and years ago. One of our long-time employees, Gay Lea Goodbar, her mother worked here. She was a terrific cook and baker and she would always bake cakes for people for their birthdays. We had this one employee who was a bit of a curmudgeon and he didn't want his birthday remembered. He kept saying 'I don't want a cake, don't make me a cake.' So after hearing this, year after year, Ella Gay Potter brought in a cake for his birthday. It was this pretty sheet cake, chocolate cake, with candles on it. He blew out the candles, she gave him a knife, and he proceeded to try and cut the cake. He couldn't cut it because she had iced a box. But then she went around the corner and brought back a real cake. He actually did laugh. We got a laugh out of him.
How do you feel about newspapers and journalism?
I think they're essential. I think that we must have in our communities some trusted source that can provide information about what's happening in the community, what's happening with our local governments, with local business, what's happening in our schools, what our people are doing - their special accomplishments. I think somebody needs to be there to recognize and applaud people who do great things.
I think that a community that doesn't have some sort of a local news and information source, and one that has people that have some training to be able to determine what's important and how to organize a news story so that it's understandable to readers is really very important. There are studies that show that communities that don't have a local newspaper or local news organization pay higher interest rates on their municipal bonds. There are greater instances of corruption locally. There's lower civic participation in terms of voting and there's also more polarization. So, I think that all of these are pretty good reasons to keep your local newspaper around and healthy.
