Mark Gillespie

This week we are featuring an interview with Mark Gillespie, the Editor in Chief of the Livingston County News. Mark is a well respected community member, friend of The VIP Guys and caring father of three. He has done newspaper work in Alaska and Kentucky, public radio in Alaska, and public relations at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and Emporia State University. Now he resides in Livonia, NY and is dedicated to the long term growth of the Livingston County News! Please give his interview a read! You will learn about the impact one can have on the community, the future of the newspaper business, Mark’s philosophy of success! - Ben DeGeorge

BIW: How do you define success?

Success is a very personal thing. It’s hard to point to a stereotype of success, because sometimes people are successful in ways that others consider to be failures. In my particular case, I feel I am successful because I am in a job that gives me a lot of freedom and creativity. I have a lot of respect from the people I work with and the people in this community.It’s harder for someone like me to quantify success in terms that are measurable, because money is second to me.

BIW: From your perspective as Editor in Chief of the Livingston County News, what is the toughest part about being in the newspaper industry?

I think the toughest part is to be fair to everybody, especially when you work in a medium with limited space. The hardest thing is when someone comes to us, with a good story, and we can’t satisfy them because there are not enough pages in the paper to cover the story. It is tough to make that judgment call. When you hear the criteria that often determines whether a story gets in, it might surprise you.

How well written is the press release? Is the article the right length? How focused is the accompanying picture? I have to make these decisions so quickly. A lot of it also comes down to the work that we have to do. If someone asks for us to bring a photographer to the event, it will cost us money. On the other hand, it makes it a lot easier if they send a nice picture and a written story.

BIW: Many regional publications in the US are going out of business. The Livingston County News carries local news stories that keep government officials in check, the public educated and the community built up. It has a very important place in this community and is widely acclaimed. Why does the LCN have a stable future?

Big newspapers around the country are suffering, particularly those serving major markets. Any newspaper that operates on a daily basis, in a market with multiple television stations, radio stations and other outlets to get community information are in trouble. You can now get movie times on your cell phones, rather than in the newspaper. The era of chopping down trees and stamping out a paper with ink and using gasoline run cars to deliver it are numbered. It is a woefully inefficient system for information.

The Livingston County News is surviving because we have a monopoly on local news. We have very little competition, and it’s unlikely we will have lasting competition. However, it is cheaper and faster to deliver the news by electronic means, and we have to look towards that end in the future.
I think a lot of people fall into the trap of only reading what they agree with, online, and I hope that local journalism does not fall that way.



BIW: What is your vision for the LCN?

We have to be able to deliver information to our readers however they would like it. There is tremendous demand for a newspaper, but some may want news alerts to their cell phones. Home owners are interested in how their tax money is spent, community members like to see their kids sport team in the paper. We have a balancing act ahead of us, and need to know how to evolve to cover all bases.

I have full plans to make sure that the Livingston County news stays relevant at least into the middle of this century. I have no plans to up and move any time soon. I want to see this move from a print weekly, to being something that Livingston County has not yet seen, a constant source for updated community information.

BIW: Livingston County is unique in how tightly knit it is. This has been evident for me having grown up and then coming to school here. How has that affected your work?

All of my journalism experience has been in small towns. One thing that a small town newspaper has to remember is that we cannot be as aggressive in news gathering as we would be in a larger community, because everyone is so close, and we do not want to burn bridges. We have a great relationship with all of the local government and municipalities. They trust us. They trust that we are not out there every week looking for stories to slam them, but when a genuine story comes up, we will cover it. We wait on things to happen, instead of speculating. I ask myself, “Will the magic number of 1,000 people be interested in this story?”

BIW: What is the best part of your job?

The ability to sort of exist outside of societies expectations. We get to cover stories from the outside in. This allows us to exercise a sort of racy humor in the office and to not take our work terribly seriously. I think a lot of corporate environments are missing this today.

BIW: What is your advice to individuals in the US that may be struggling due to economic woes?

One of the reasons we got into this problem in the first place is because so many people were living beyond their means. People had desires that outstripped their abilities to pay for them. I think my advice right now is to be as frugal as possible, take the disposable income that you may have and invest your time wisely. There are also many incredibly rewarding things that you can do with your free time that don’t cost you any money. It doesn’t cost any money to go into the back yard and throw a ball around with your child. It doesn’t cost any money to go and have a picnic.

BIW: What are the necessary success factors for newspapers in this troubling time?

This is easy for a small town newspaper to answer. Each newspaper is challenged to find its unique selling point and bring that to the forefront. If you are opening up a pizza parlor in a downtown college town, it is challenging to put your finger on what makes it unique to others. But our newspaper has a unique selling point. We chronicle the life and times of Livingston County. We bolster people’s self esteem by featuring human accomplishments or achievements. We provide a forum for policing wrongdoing in government and private life. And, we mark the passage of time. Every issue that we put out has something that ties in with the season or week.

BIW: Please tell our readers about your family! I hear them screaming in the background of this phone interview.

I have three daughters. One of them turns nine this year. She lives near Chapel Hill, NC. I have two other daughters with my second wife, Jasmin Baron. They are CJ who is three and a half years old and Eliza who just turned two. I live in a nice historic house in Livonia. I enjoy a quiet small town life.



BIW: What do you do in your free time? What do you consider hobbies?

I love to read about history. I am also a big movie buff. I try to see movies whenever I can. I try to see all of the best picture nominees every time the academy awards come out.

I am a huge consumer of online news. Every day I have about thirty or forty websites that I check up on. I am fascinated by how journalism is evolving that way. I don’t think there is a big gap anymore between online and print journalism.



BIW: What are your favorite movies?

No Country for Old Men last year was incredible. I am interested in movies that help people solve a mental puzzle. I am not so much into movies that put characters into physical harm, or the formulaic romantic comedies. I like movies that ask a lot from the audience.

BIW: What would be your advice for anyone who wants to get into the news industry?

Diversify. Don’t pick one of the big three; newspapers, TV or radio. Make sure you know how to write in clear Associated Press journalism style. Make sure you know how to operate a tape recorder, a video and still camera. When you go to an employer, you need to be ready to act as the jack of all trades.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer went out of business and re-launched itself as an online publication. It went from an editorial staff of 78 to a staff of about 20. The people who are successful have to be able to reach the audience however the audience wants to be reached.



Final thoughts, Mark?

I hope that our readers do read news, and take an interest in how the local and state government is spending our tax money. I hope that they question everything that they see, and don’t take what journalists write to be the gospel truth.

Thanks Mark!

Mark Gillespie, Editor and Chief of the Livingston County News can be reached by email at mark@livingstonnews.com

BB&T Corp & Principled Leadership

By: Joseph Norman

“Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act, but a habit.” - Aristotle

Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to John Allison, Chairman of BB & T Corporation, deliver a talk about Principled Leadership at the University of Central Florida. Essentially he walked through the corporate philosophy at BB & T which he helped develop over the last decade.

The truth is that the people that have become truly successful in this world didn’t take shortcuts. They consistently did the right thing even in the face of adversity or lack of support from others. The 10 BB&T Values are a good model of how we can consistently do the right thing in our own lives.

Without further adieu:

Reality (Fact-Based). What is, is. If we want to be better, we must act within the context of reality (the facts).

Reason (Objectivity). We cannot all be geniuses, but each of us can develop the mental habits which ensure that when making decisions we carefully examine the facts and think logically without contradiction in deriving a conclusion.

Independent Thinking. All human progress by definition is based on creativity, because creativity is the source of positive change. Creativity is only possible to an independent thinker. Creativity is not about just doing something different. It is about doing something better.

Productivity. In a long term context and in a free market, the bigger the profit, the better. Healthy profits represent productive work.

Honesty. Being honest is simply being consistent with reality. To be honest does not require that we know everything. Knowledge is always contextual and man is not omniscient. However, we must be responsible for saying what we mean and meaning what we say.

Integrity. Principles provide carefully thought-out concepts which will lead to our long-term success and happiness. We should always act consistently with our principles.

Justice (Fairness). In evaluating other people, it is critical that we judge based on essentials. Individuals must be judged individually based on their personal merits, not their membership in any group.

Pride. Pride is the psychological reward we earn from living by our values, i.e., from being just, honest, having integrity, being an independent thinker, being productive and rational.

Self-Esteem (Self-Motivation). A necessary attribute for self-esteem is self-motivation. You receive from your work in proportion to how much you contribute.

Teamwork / Mutual Supportiveness. While independent thought and strong personal goals are critically important, work is often accomplished within teams. Each of us must consistently act to achieve the agreed-upon objectives of the team, with respect for our fellow team members, while acting in a mutually supportive manner.

Developing your own set of values is not an easy task, but it is a crucial one! My hope is that some of BB&T’s values resonate with you and help you make your own world a better place.