An important part of being a robust Opinions page is engaging members of the community. To help facilitate that effort, the Richmond Times-Dispatch has created its first-ever Community Advisory Board.

Pamela Stallsmith, Opinions editor, said: "The 12-member board represents a dynamic cross section of the Richmond region. It consists of readers who will share their views with the RTD Opinions team, staff columnists and newspaper leadership about how we're covering the issues facing our community. The volunteer board will meet monthly with us and will serve a one-year term."

General manager/advertising directors have been appointed to CNHI newspapers in four Kentucky communities, effective immediately.

Nicole McMullin has been appointed marketing director of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Mark Walker has been named general manager and advertising director for The Sentinel-Echo and the Times-Tribune of Kentucky.

PJ Browning, president and publisher of The Post and Courier in Charleston, was elected president of the South Carolina Press Association at the group's Annual Meeting Saturday at The Marriott in Columbia.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is pleased to announce "Strong Voices: Celebrating the Power and Stories of Richmond Women." The March event and corresponding special section in The Times-Dispatch are presented in partnership with Sonabank and its P.O.W.E.R. program.

"Strong Voices" recognizes women – present and past – whose vision, impact and commitment have served Richmond and Virginia.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch has named veteran journalist and former Times-Dispatch reporter Pamela Stallsmith as its next opinions editor.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is excited to launch the Virginia Video Network, a location-based video advertising solution delivered through standalone periodical racks and video displays. Through this new platform, the paper's advertisers can market directly to consumers at the point of purchase in high-traffic retail locations.

Virginia Video Network is Virginia's first digital-out-of-home video marketing solution that combines data and technology together to deliver relevant advertising messages to targeted customers.

Podcasting has been around for more than a decade but has seen explosive growth the last few years as smartphones and smart speakers have become ubiquitous media devices. Podcast ad revenue has nearly doubled in the last two years to $314 million since 2017, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau, which projects revenue to double again by 2020.

If this content distribution channel is not in your strategic plan, maybe one of the Tuesday morning breakout sessions at the Mega-Conference will change your mind.

Laura Rich, host of The Exit Club, a podcast about entrepreneurs, and founder of The Podcasting Agency, which develops engaging audio content for marketers, will lead a panel that will discuss best practices in podcast marketing, from content and distribution to technology and advertising options.

Joining her will be Hans Appen, president of Appen Media Group in Alpharetta, Ga., and Jay Prather, executive director digital programming for the Las Vegas (Nev.) Review-Journal.

The editorial pages of the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch have hired a new writer and promoted two editors.