Got some change?

Change. The word itself brings many images to one's mind. For some, it is a political slogan which led Barack Obama into the White House. To others, it is a much-feared word signifying upheaval in their lives.

In 1999, my life changed. I went from publisher of the Minden Press-Herald to publisher of the Bossier Press-Tribune. It was a change that brought many challenges. The struggling weekly newspaper was on “life support” by many standards.

For the last 10+ years, it has been my duty and pleasure to be a part of a team that has improved and expanded Bossier's newspaper to a place of prominence in our community.

In 1999, the newspaper published just one day per week. Over the past decade, we have increased the frequency on two different occasions. Today, we are a Monday-Friday afternoon daily newspaper serving the citizens of Bossier Parish.

In that same amount of time, we improved the quality product, both in news and advertising. The improvements did not go unnoticed either. We have won countless awards from the Louisiana Press Association, including garnering Newspaper of the Year honors three times (2000, 2001 and 2005).

We have marked major milestones in our community's history, from the local impact of terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, to celebrating Bossier City's Centennial in 2007, to the Bassmaster Classic in 2009. If it impacted Bossier, it was reflected on the pages of the Press-Tribune.

At the beginning of February, change came once again to the Press-Tribune and to me personally. Jim Knudsen was named publisher of your newspaper, while I was promoted to vice president of Specht Newspapers, Inc. While this is certainly a major shift in personnel, the focus of the Press-Tribune remains the same — serve the people and businesses of Bossier Parish.

Jim brings a lifetime of experience in community newspapers to Bossier. As a publisher in Crestview, Fla., Jim worked diligently to provide a community news product which reflected the people he served. Under his leadership, I fully believe the Bossier Press-Tribune will only get better.

For me, this change has brought a new role to my career. As vice president, I will be working the develop new products and opportunities for our businesses in this ever-changing marketplace.

One of the first products currently in development is Bossier Business Monthly, a business-to-business magazine. This product is geared to help businesses in Bossier connect with one another, while learning how to improve what they do from a business standpoint.

The business world is also in a constant state of change and we feel a duty to help our local businesses keep up with that change.

Also, I will continue to be very involved with the Bossier Press-Tribune, offering what help I can to continue to improve Bossier's Newspaper. Jim and I will work together closely to bring the very best news and advertising products to the people of Bossier.

In fact, I am not physically going anywhere. I can still be reached at the Press-Tribune office at 747-7900. My heart is here and my focus continues to be on the east side of the Red River.

With change comes opportunity. It is our hope and plan the recent change here will help Bossier's newspaper continue to grow and serve the greatest people anywhere.

May The Blog Be With You.

Fees release me... Let me go

I heard that many governmental bodies, facing budget shortfalls, are increasing “fees” as opposed to raising “taxes.” Even at the Federal levels, the idea of allowing tax cuts to expire as a way of increasing revenues seems to be a certainty.

Whatever you want to call it, sending more money to government is still a tax increase. Now, I know that we all have to do our fair share during these tough times.

In a family budget, if income does not exceed outgo, then things have to be trimmed, or income has to be raised... it is just that simple. (Living on credit cards never lasts). So in the interest of “helping out,” I would like to offer a few items that could be cut from the federal budget to help make up the $1.5 trillion deficit.

• Eliminate the position of Vice President. Who really cares about this position anyway? Sure, he is “one heartbeat” away from the presidency, but as long as Alexander Haig has things “under control here at the White House,” everyone will be ok. (Man, I am dating myself with that reference)

• No more mattress tags. They are costing us a fortune.

• Eliminate the penny, two dollar bill and any dollar coins. Possession of these usually just ticks us off anyway.

• Force California to secede from the Union. Arnold can have 'em.

• Reduce the number of days that Congress can meet. If they have time to worry about the BCS, steroids in sports and whether or not car company execs have private planes, they have way too much time on their hands.

• Replace whitehouse.gov with a Facebook page. It's not like anyone is going to their website.

Hopefully we can save at least $1 Billion dollars with each of these changes. Now we only have $1,494 Billion to go.

Pretty soon, you are talking about “real money.”

May The Blog Be With You.