Reporter-Turned-Publisher Seeks Replacement

By: Heidi Kulicke

"Editor to Become Publisher: California Newspaper Group is looking for a person with an editorial background, business savvy, and people skills to learn the ropes in an aggressive market area in Central California. Publisher/owner is ready to turn the reins over to his younger staff after 45 years. The owner's background is editorial so you can be a part of an organization that focuses on good journalism and not just the bottom line. You would also be working in a place where there is no snow, but if you want the ski slopes and Yosemite National Park, they are only a couple of hours away."

This ad appeared courtesy of John M. Derby, founder of California Newspaper Group and Mid Valley Publications, publisher of six weekly newspapers. Derby strongly believes in freedom of the press. Or rather, in his words: "the freedom goes to the one who owns the press."

As a reporter who didn't own a press, he watched many of his stories die on his editor's desk. "Frequently, I was told there wasn't room for them," Derby said, referring to his first reporting job at the Merced Sun Star, a daily in Central California.

To get his stories to the public, Derby started his own newspaper in 1965 in the small community of Winton, Calif.

But editorial freedom came at a price. Derby and his family sold their home and moved to a small trailer behind the office. Later, Derby was threatened with jail time for distributing 10,000 free newspapers on the lawns of the community. Police told him he was "in violation of the city's anti-litter ordinance." Two weeks later the Merced City Council unanimously overturned the decision, and the newspaper has grown to be one of the largest in the area.

As a writer-turned-publisher, Derby believes some of the basic problems in the newspaper industry are due to non-editorial publishers directing the format of their newspapers. "The bottom line in many cases has become more important than the quality of work," Derby said. Derby cited a competitor who has had two publishers in the past five years. One was the circulation manager and the other the advertising manager before becoming publisher, he said.

Derby believes in giving editorial authority to his editors and writers. In 2004, he set up a plan to give all the stock in his corporation to the employees. Presently, employees own 30 percent of the stock and elect a board of directors who make the major decisions.

As Derby nears retirement, he looks to the industry's future. "My hope is for newspapers to continue to be grassroots voices for the communities they represent. As community journalists, we need to do a better job of communicating with our leaders, and this is why it's so important that publishers have an editorial background," Derby said.

Derby frequently sails to Mexico, where he now spends about half his time. He will continue to write a weekly column called "Ship to Shore."