Gazette GM emphasizes community connections, service

James Bright is the new general manager of the Texarkana Gazette, parent company WEHCO Media has announced.

Bright will immediately begin work overseeing all operations at the newspaper.

"I'm looking forward to working with James. He's a creative and energetic leader," said Mark Lane, president of WEHCO's newspaper division. "He is passionate about local journalism, building relationships with customers, partners and team members."

Bright brings to his new role experience as a managing editor, general manager, advertising director and regional publisher for newspapers in Texas and Oklahoma, most recently the Duncan, Okla., Banner and the Express-Star of Chickasha, Okla. His most recent position was marketer for HealthCare Express.

In 2011, Bright earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Texas A&M University-Commerce, where he served for two years as the editor of the college newspaper, The East Texan. He continued to write as he assumed management duties, racking up more than 4,000 bylines.

"I was a newspaper man from the minute I was born," he said.

Connecting with and serving the Texarkana community is at the top of Bright's agenda.

"I have always viewed journalists as public servants, and when I look at a publication, that doesn't mean people that work strictly in editorial. That means anybody that works for the publication I believe to be a journalist.

"I believe the audience, both digital and print, are the most important aspect of this paper. That's what keeps us alive, and I believe in serving those people to a fault," he said.

To that end, Bright will require Gazette department heads and encourage other employees to join local civic organizations, and the paper will pay for it.

He also plans to improve the paper's digital product to strengthen the relationship with readers, including by adding value with digital-only content.

"The key is finding out what are those extra things. Well, that's video, that's interactive services, that's maybe a daily or at minimum a weekly broadcast where we talk about the news that's in the paper and we allow to interact with the people that are reading the paper, answer their questions.

"Basically, it's more about creating an experience, an interactive experience for the audience, as opposed to something they read and then they go about their life. We want them invested in the paper just as we are invested in them," he said.

Another goal is to counter recent hostility toward the press.

"We live in a society now where true journalism is viewed with vitriol, and I think, honestly, media is as at fault for that as anything else, as well as pundits and policy. But my goal is to change that perspective," he said. "My goal is with everyone here to create a product, create a company that not only embraces Texarkana but is really a community leader for its people. I want it to be their paper."