IDA BROWN: Closing one door to open another

Sep. 16—If I were to write my life story, a great many chapters would be devoted to my time at The Meridian Star Newspaper.

On Friday, I concluded 39 1/4 years at this 124-year-old Meridian newspaper.

What was supposed to only be two years (I'd planned to either enroll in law school or move on to another newspaper) has been an amazing journey marked by changes in the newspaper industry and the city, as well as personal growth and insight.

Many people are astonished when they learn how long I've been at The Star. I often tell them I started at age 5 which, honestly, is just a few years less than when my foray into journalism began. I started with the KG Kitten Newspaper at Kate Griffin Junior High School and continued as a reporter and later features editor for The Wildcat at Meridian High School.

Back to the chapters about my years at The Star ...

Only a few African Americans had worked on the editorial staff when I started at The Meridian Star in June 1983.

In fact, one year before I graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi, NAACP President and businessman the late Obie Clark called the newspaper as I sat in his office during a weekend visit and asked then editor Jim Winn why this was so.

When informed there had not been any qualified applicants, Mr. Clark quickly responded, "Well, I have a young lady sitting right here who is majoring in journalism at USM and she will be graduating next year and coming back home to live and work. Mr. Winn told Mr. Clark to contact him the following year when I'd graduated.

A week after I graduated in May 1983, I went to Mr. Clark's office and he once again called The Star.

"The young lady I was telling you about has earned her degree in journalism," he noted, adding, "She'll be come down there to apply for a position as a reporter."

In addition to Mr. Clark, the late State Rep. Charles L. Young Sr. called The Star on my behalf. I heard him tell Mr. Winn, "I've known this young lady since she was a baby; she's family. I know she'll do a great job for the newspaper."

No pressure here.

A few days after I interviewed, I received the call that I was approved to work at The Meridian Star Newspaper.

The beginning and thereafter

Before I started at The Star, my mother sat down and had a little talk with me. The conversation started with her beaming and expressing how proud she was of what I'd accomplished. Then, she took a more serious note.

"You know you are setting the path for someone else, right?" she said. "Your job performance and your actions will make it easier for the next person (of color) to be hired."

Again, no pressure.

Her next words would sort of become a mantra for me.

"There have not been a lot of our people to work there; you may be tested by some people," she cautioned. "I know you and how when you're irritated that Richard Simon temper comes out of you (she was referring to her father). All I've got to say is watch your mouth. If somebody says something negative, either ignore it or come up with a dignified way to deal with them.

On June 4, 1983, I began as a reporter in the Lifestyles Section, the first African American to work in the department. The late Dorothy Thompson was Lifestyles editor, and Kay Culpepper Thomas and Donna Turnipseed (we had classes together at USM) were also reporters.

They welcomed me, helped me adjust and we developed great lasting friendships. I also became close to many of the paper's other staff and when we had company gatherings, especially at Christmas, it truly was a family affair.

I did have a couple of "encounters." Most of them I ignored, but a few I had to comment on — but with finesse. One employee seemed to think I knew or was related to every African American person in Meridian. If someone was in the building, he would say, "What does he do?" or "Is that your cousin?" I usually shook my head and walked away. One day I was in a bank and he was there. "I walked up to him and said, 'Thanks for inviting me to your family reunion! I'm really enjoying myself." He looked puzzled and then I asked, "Well, aren't all these people your relatives?"

He never asked if I knew about someone or if they were related to me again.

When I started working in Lifestyles, the section was transitioning from a "society" format to more features and in-depth stories. In the past, the section mostly featured pages of full-length wedding pictures and detailed writeups that not only detailed the bride's gown, but also her attendants, what the mother of the bride and other members of the wedding party wore, details about decorations and the reception, plus more. Engagements also were detailed, and usually included a 3 x 4 picture of the couple.

With the change, the front of the section included personality features, articles about local happenings, current trends or interests as well as upcoming events. Wedding write-ups were reduced to a 2 x 5 photo and a less-detailed writeup; engagements, a 1 x 3 photo and also a less detailed writeup.

Another change: A married woman was referred to by her name, not her husband (i.e. Jane Doe, not Mrs. Jane Doe). There was some resistance, especially for many older women. It would be a number of years before the name change was accepted.

Photos were less staged. Instead of the standard shot of someone "pointing at something" or pretending to be engaged in conversation, they actually were doing something. Group pictures were limited to 5 people and everyone had to be identified.

There would be other changes as the years passed, especially in production. When I started, pages were created using a method called paste-up. This labor-intensive and meticulous technique began with a layout person taking the text of an article from the printer, and cutting it into columns with scissors.

The article was then spread with a waxy substance (I called it butter because of its thick consistency) to fix the columns to a board, making sure the flow of the copy was right on the page. This would be later replaced with a computerized page design desktop publishing or pagination.

While the old manual typewriter had been replaced with computers long before I started working at The Star, as technology advanced the computers were replaced. Some steps in the production process would be performed while the reporter was entering their story into the computer system. Film camera photos would be replaced with digitals.

And though technology has had a significant impact on every aspect of the newspaper industry (equipment, production, transfer of information), it also has contributed to the newspaper's demise.

While technology has enabled newspapers to better compete with electronic media (TV, radio) with breaking news through websites, Facebook, Twitter and other social media outlets, it has hurt the industry in that most of those platforms are considered free to the general public. Instead of promoting and advertising in newspapers, many businesses turn to social media.

Fun, exciting and sometimes sad

Without question, I've had some unique and extraordinary experiences during my years at The Star. After many years of working on the "softer side" of news, I decided to switch over to hard news. There, I would see the good, the bad and the ugly: crime, shootings, accidents with and without fatalities and everything in-between.

My first murder was nerve-wracking.

While I did not see the victim, just knowing they were just a few feet away, seeing the reaction of the person charged with the murder and the pandemonium at the scene made me wonder at first if I was cut out for covering this type of news. But in time, I learned how to just do my job.

One morning I was to cover a scheduled drug bust. I was so excited, but would not dare tell my mother what I was doing or where I was going.

Not only would she have worried, but also she probably would have forbidden me from going. So when she questioned why I was leaving for work at 4 in the morning, I told her I'd gotten behind on a project and had to have it completed before 8 a.m. I knew she would eventually figure it out when she read it in the paper, but I wasn't prepared for her to see it firsthand on the evening news. There I was, crouched next to a car with pen and notebook in hand.

My mother was not happy. After calming her down and explaining that I was safe and it was something I enjoyed doing, she accepted it. Needless to say, she was rather excited when several years later I told her I was returning to Lifestyles.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet many interesting and inspirational people from all walks of life right here in my hometown and surrounding areas. I've also had to meet and interview a number of celebrities and trailblazers including talk show host Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Clower, musician Charlie Daniels, the R&B group Atlantic Starr, comedian Symore, singer Amy Grant, actor Morgan Freeman, civil rights advocate and first African-American student at Ole Miss James Meredith, country music singer Charlie Pride (my interview with him was among his last before his passing) and many other celebrities.

It was while covering the funeral of the late Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery I began to ponder my legacy. For years, the Congressman had accomplished many things and had touched so many lives, which was reflected on continuously by individuals and entities throughout the services.

I asked myself, "What will be your legacy?"

While it has not gained worldwide attention, I hope that my work here at The Star has been a reflection of my dedication to my hometown and community. In recent years through my work with the newspaper's magazines Meridian Life and Timeless Meridian, I have tried to reflect on the good of the Meridian community and its citizens, purposely spotlighting individuals from all walks of life.

I also take pride in that during my years here at The Star, I have achieved a number of firsts as an African American: Lifestyles Assistant Editor and Editor, the first female to serve as News Editor (Robert Naylor was the first to serve), Special Sections Editor and last but not least, Magazine Editor.

Whenever I acknowledged Mr. Obie Clark's contribution to my being hired by The Star, he would say, "You did the work. I just helped make the door a little easier for you to enter."

I hope I've done the same for someone else.

And now, on to another chapter in the book of my life.

Ida Brown worked for The Meridian Star for nearly 40 years. Contact her at idapbrown@gmail.com