By Holly Desrosier
The New Bern Sun Journal has been the region’s go-to source for local news since 1876. The publication has guided its readers for over a century by offering extensive, comprehensive coverage on a variety of topics, including sports, education, politics and business.
But more than that, they are a constant source of communication that holds the Craven County community together. They are also the recipients of this year’s Community Fabric Award for Business Leadership.
For many, the Sun Journal is the primary source of local news, keeping readers abreast with current events and topics ranging from elementary school honor roll lists and church bake sales to presidential elections and global pandemics. While their format is comparable to many local newspapers when it comes to covering daily activities within the region, what sets the Sun Journal apart is their proactive involvement with the community in which they operate.
Interacting with the community is nothing new for the Sun Journal. They have always made an effort to work with nonprofit organizations through sponsorships and spotlighting local events. However, in recent years, they have taken significant steps to go beyond just being an informational outlet to finding ways to engage with those nonprofits and with their readers. They do this by collecting supplies for local animal rescue groups, engaging with the nonprofit council and talking with local leaders to find out how they can achieve mutual and beneficial goals.
“Volunteerism and giving back is such a fundamental component of living and operating a business in Craven County that it’s only natural that the Sun Journal and our staff find multiple ways to give back and support others in ways other than through our primary function as a news source,” said Chris Segal, executive editor. “Our newspaper is made up of different departments and different job functions, but individually and as a whole, we all give back and are active members of the community.”
With a steadily rising reputation and growing number of readers, people trust the Sun Journal to deliver them with quality columns. They report on the events but also take part in them and actively support the community and its various organizations. If there’s an event happening in the area, Sun Journal staffers are always there to snap photos, write a feature story or offer advice.
This involvement keeps information circulated and readers informed, while the publication’s media sponsorships and promotions help make local events successful and, in turn, help businesses thrive and keep the local economy in full swing. Their thorough job of covering local events ensures that people are there to support the community, from fundraisers benefitting local nonprofits to free concerts for the entertainment of citizens.
According to Segal, who will take over as publisher in early April, the Sun Journal plays two primary roles in the community: local journalism and local business services.
“Our newsroom is dedicated to producing impactful journalism that is unique,” he said. “We have the wire and syndicates to provide our readers with national news. No other publication has a Bill Hand, Todd Wetherington, Charlie Hall, Jordan Honeycutt, Tina Adkins, Gray Whitley or Matt Hinson telling local stories of importance.”
He also noted that the publication’s advertising staff has a similar mission to tell unique stories by helping local businesses market and promote themselves. The advertising staff’s main objective is to learn about the area’s businesses and help them get the best returns and increase their sales, traffic and branding through a variety of marketing options.
“If you haven’t talked with Betty Beaudreau, Tyler Beaman, Karen Gardner, Ken Warren or David Prizer, you may be surprised to learn all the ways they can connect and help local businesses grow,” said Segal.
He explained that the Sun Journal’s longstanding tradition of civic engagement dates back to publishers like Vernon DeBolt and Mike Distelhorst, who drove and supported increasing levels of community involvement. Many of the publication’s key players, such as Judy Avery, are no longer with them but spent many years building the Sun Journal’s status in the community by working with local nonprofits and business leaders to find mutually beneficial ways to make everyone more successful. Others are often hard at work behind the scenes, such as Sheila Meadows and her circulation staff, who have been powerful advocates for community involvement.
“Our current staff has seen and learned from the leaders who came before us to continue that tradition of not only supporting local journalism and local businesses through our day jobs but through being active participants in what makes Craven County one of the best places to live and work,” Segal added.
Segal joined the Sun Journal roster in 2012. Having grown up in a large city with a much bigger population, the New Bern area was a bit of an adjustment. However, it didn’t take long for him to realize that the Sun Journal had something special that he could use to strengthen community ties.
“I could read my hometown newspaper for an entire year without ever seeing a single person I recognized or knew personally or professionally,” he admitted. “My hometown paper is one of the best papers in the country, but I think one thing many of us love about the Sun Journal and our content is that it’s rare to ever open up a newspaper or read one of our local stories online and not have some connection with the person in the story, or the journalists telling you that story.”
Indeed, in such a tightknit region it’s common to run into someone familiar while out running errands. Segal acknowledged that it helps keep the publication’s journalism in check—if their reporting comes off as biased toward or against a local official, business or person, they would certainly hear about it in the grocery store, at church and from neighbors. As such, the Sun Journal staff work hard to present readers with complete and accurate stories, even if it’s on a topic that may not please everyone. After all, their duty as a professional publication is to report the news regardless of its popularity with the readers.
“Our job is not to only promote or only be positive, but when we do have critical or hard content, we have to stand behind it and we have a lot of skin in the game,” said Segal.
Although Segal’s tenure has been relatively short, many Sun Journal staffers are veterans of about 30 years. A lot has changed in those few decades, and the Sun Journal has done an impressive job of keeping up with modern technology and current trends, such as engaging readers electronically by keeping a constant source of online content at newbernsj.com and maintaining social media pages. Dealing with the digital transition is something the Sun Journal’s newsroom and other departments deal with on a daily basis, and they’ve already seen tremendous growth. In 2019 alone, their website had nearly 13 million pageviews.
“Our newsrooms are engaging with our readers and growing our numbers, meaning more and more people are reading our content than ever before,” said Segal. “Our circulation folks are working on delivering our products, helping customers and building a future base of digital subscribers. Our advertising department has moved away from single transitions and are real media consultants that can help local businesses grow their bottom line through all kinds of tools and programs.”
However, all businesses must tackle hardships. Like most newspapers and media companies, the Sun Journal has been faced with declining circulation trends even as digital audiences have dramatically increased. The true challenge of late is finding ways to convert print subscribers to digital subscribers.
“There is a cost to produce impactful local journalism,” Segal explained. “We have to pay for it through advertising and circulation. During times like now with a pandemic going on, we have lowered our paywall. There needs to be a time that local communities like ours see the value in our journalism and are willing to pay monthly for a digital subscription.”
Even after facing budget and staff cuts, the Sun Journal has held on tightly to its roots and has continued to seek collaborative opportunities within the community, encouraging civic connections and enhancing the lives of Craven County citizens.
Although it would be virtually impossible to list all the Sun Journal’s contributions since it originated 144 years ago, it’s clear to see why they were selected for this year’s Business Leadership Award. The Sun Journal is much more than just a newspaper to its readers. People look forward to reading their daily paper, and some may have a favorite weekly feature or just enjoy catching up on what’s happening in the area. And, in times of crisis, whether it’s a devastating hurricane or global pandemic, the paper provides readers with up-to-date news, disaster recovery resources and peace of mind. Their efforts are a prime example of business leadership.
The annual Community Fabric Awards event was created by the Craven Community College Foundation to showcase leadership as demonstrated by outstanding initiative, impact of service and inspiration of others. The 10th annual event and luncheon was scheduled for April 28 to celebrate this year’s recipients but was cancelled to help ensure the health and safety of community members amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Being the recipient of this year’s Business Leadership Fabric Award is not an honor that the Sun Journal staff take lightly. To them, it’s tangible proof that their hard work in the community has been noticed and is making a difference. The New Bern Sun Journal remains an integral part of the fabric that holds Craven County together and will undoubtedly continue to do so for another 144 years.
This article was originally published in the New Bern Sun Journal on March 29, 2020.