A 20 year journey from ‘Life and Times’ to ‘The Melody’

Buried in a wooden crate in one of my closets is a stack of documents held together by staples. “Special 6 Page Edition!” the top of one of them reads. I’m holding the Dec. 6, 2004 edition of “Life and Times,” a newspaper of sorts I created when I was 13
years old. 

“Of sorts” because it’s on 8.5 by 11 printer paper and designed with Microsoft Publisher. In some ways, it does resemble a newspaper: there’s weather, polls, sports, puzzles, coupons and ads, an index and a
staff list.

I enlisted my brothers as reporters, sold ads to my mother (which could get you anything from an extra serving of dessert after dinner to an hour of video games) and made sure my four subscribers were happy.

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I think my love affair with newspapers began in the late 1990s. We lived in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and my parents took the Dallas Morning News. I loved the sports section most of all, memorizing MLB season leaders and interpreting the back-and-forth drama hidden in box scores. 

I remember the front page of the DMN on June 20, 1999, just over 25 years ago, the day after the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup: “Overjoyed” the hammer headline shouted, a photo of goalie Ed Belfour in a jubilant scowl, hoisting the cup.

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In high school, I read “The Kingdom and the Power,” a book published in 1963 by Gay Talese about the history of the New York Times. 

Although it was written decades before I was born, Talese’s tale of the inner workings of the NYT seemed so fresh and vibrant. This is where I want to be. Throughout college, my computer’s wallpaper was a photo of the New York Times headquarters, a daily reminder of my ultimate goal.

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While some of my friends at Texas A&M University-Commerce were plagued with doubts about their chosen career fields, I was laser-focused: I wanted a degree in print journalism. 

I became a staff writer, then section editor and finally editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The East Texan. I served as the president of the Texas Intercollegiate Press Association, interned at my local newspaper the Greenville Herald Banner and, when I was a junior in college, got a job as a beat reporter there.

I ran newspapers in Texas, then moved to Norman, Oklahoma to run the Transcript (and also taught a journalism survey class at the University of Oklahoma for two years). After a stop in El Dorado, Arkansas, I moved here, to Macon, to run the Telegraph. Last winter, the Georgia Trust for Local News hired me as their executive editor.

During that time I’ve written thousands of stories and shot thousands of photos, designed hundreds of newspaper and magazine pages, hired more than a hundred reporters and editors, punched and hung plates on printing presses, fed inserting machine pockets, unloaded newsprint from tractor-trailers  helped carriers roll newspapers for Thanksgiving Day, edited videos and podcasts and just about everything newspaper-related that you could think of.

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It took me more than 20 years, four states and 12 newspapers to get from “Life and Times” to “The Macon Melody.” Along the way, I met my best friends. I was lucky to learn the business from press operators and sales reps and circulation district managers. 

The list of folks who had a tremendous impact on my career is long: Dr. Lamar Whitlow Bridges, Fred Stewart, James Bright, Brad Kellar, Mark Millsap, Mack Burke, Rebekah Collins, Clay Horning, Oby Brown, Joe Kovac Jr., Robyn Tomlin and Blake Kaplan are just a handful.

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Everyone in my newsroom has a story like this one. We’re all products of hard work and remarkable people who poured wisdom into us. 

Starting a newspaper in 2024 is a courageous choice, one we’re only able to make because of generous support from the organizations like the Knight Foundation — which continues to invest deeply in Macon — the Woodruff Foundation and Marguerite Casey Foundation. 

A legion of people have gotten us to this starting line. We wouldn’t be here without the tireless work of DuBose Porter, Pam Burney, Kyle Dominy and others at the Georgia Trust for Local News; Rodney Gibbs, Carrie Porter, Ross McDuffie and others at the National Trust for Local News; Lynn Murphey, Sherrie Marshall and the rest of our project planning committee; and partners like Mercer University.

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Most importantly, we’re here because of you, our readers. That may sound corny, but take a second to reflect: out of all the places in the U.S., The Melody is launching here, in Macon, Georgia. What does that say about our community? What does that say about where we’re going?

We have a lot of work ahead of us, telling your stories, examining challenges, sharing solutions and celebrating victories. We’re ready for it.

We’ve been getting ready for it for a long time.

Caleb Slinkard is the managing editor of The Macon Melody and the executive editor of the Georgia Trust for Local News. Email him at caleb@maconmelody.com.