Mike Gebhart now majority owner of Albany Herald, other SCNI papers

ALBANY — You won’t see Mike Gebhart covering a news conference … taking notes, interviewing participants or rushing back to write a story about the goings-on. Gebhart doesn’t write headlines, photo captions or opinion columns, and he doesn’t take all the information gathered by reporters and design the news pages that make up the paper.

But make no mistake, Gebhart is a newspaperman through-and-through, the ink flowing as thickly in his veins as it does the lifers who spend their professional careers chasing the stories that matter to their communities.

For that reason, the citizens of southwest Georgia, Albany and the surrounding area — especially the citizens who look to their community newspapers’ print and online editions for stories that impact their lives — will take solace in the news that Gebhart is now the majority owner of the Albany Herald plus Gwinnett, Conyers, Newton, Clayton, Henry, and Butts County newspapers and multiple digital sites that currently make up the Southern Community Newspapers family of publications.

“We’ve been working on this transaction for nearly a year,” Gebhart said. “I seriously contemplated backing out of the deal because of the pandemic and concerns that revenues have plummeted. However, after much prayer, contemplation, support from a great wife and family, and wise counsel, I decided it was the right thing to do. We have so many loyal employees I want them to have the opportunity to continue their careers, and our communities need us to tell them the truth about what’s going on locally. I’m motivated to give back to others for as long as possible.”

Gebhart is a native of St. Louis, Mo. He graduated from Missouri Baptist University in 1978 and did graduate work for an MBA at St. Louis University and Webster University prior to beginning a professional career in the newspaper industry with the Suburban Journals in St. Louis. His career took him to senior-level positions at media outlets in New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia, Michigan and Georgia.

Gebhart moved to Georgia in 2004 when he joined the Albany Herald as vice president and general manager. He was promoted to president and publisher Oct. 1, 2005. In November 2007, he was named the COO and executive vice president of the parent company of The Herald, Southern Community Newspapers Inc. of Atlanta with responsibility for the entire media division consisting of seven newspapers and several websites. Gebhart is also treasurer of the Georgia Press Association.

He and his wife Nancy, also a native of St. Louis, currently reside in Duluth. They have three children and nine grandchildren.

Gebhart’s completion of the deal with a New York private equity firm gives him primary ownership of the SCNI properties and automatically gives the papers a more community feel.

“I’ve spent my career in this business and loved my time in Albany and still have lifelong friends in southwest Georgia,” Gebhart said. “My father, who still lives in St. Louis at the age of 85, was a newspaper publisher, so I guess you could say I was destined to be in this great industry. It’s always been a calling for me because of my unwavering belief in local news and information being the fabric of communities.”

Albany Herald and AlbanyHerald.com President Scot Morrissey said he is encouraged by the news of Gebhart’s acquisition

“I am proud to be a part of Mike’s team,” Morrissey said. “I left a larger media company to join SCNI and the Albany Herald because of Mike and his emphasis and dedication to his employees and the local people of our communities in providing them with the best local news and advertising possible. He bleeds local community journalism.

“With our supporters’ and readers’ help, we will continue the mission started in 1891 to be your source for important news, information and advertising in our region.”

Given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on businesses in all of the communities in which the SCNI properties are located, Gebhart takes ownership at perhaps the most difficult period in each publication’s history.

An opinion piece that currently appears on all seven SCNI newspaper websites makes note of these difficulties.

“As a locally owned business, we are feeling that pain (shared by the community),” the editorial says. “Like many businesses in Albany, we have been affected greatly by the pandemic. Having events canceled and businesses closed has had a major impact on our advertisers, which in turn has impacted our finances.

“Like many companies, we are making difficult decisions to get through these unprecedented times. Having the resources to report the news and run a newspaper company is not cheap, and the irony is that, at a time when our resources are most limited, the demand for local news is greatest. We could use your support to bridge this imbalance.”

The editorial notes the creation of special pages on all of the newspapers’ websites that provide up-to-date information about the pandemic happening in southwest Georgia, Albany and around the world. The papers have also started coronavirus email updates, with two email newsletters going out each day of the week.

The publications do this not only because it’s our job, the editorial notes, but because it is our duty as a community partner to keep our readers informed. As we’ve said before, we’re in this together. And that means our entire organization.

The editorial asks, “If you are not a subscriber, please consider purchasing a subscription today. You can find out how to do that HERE. If you are a subscriber, or would like to help support community journalism, please consider making a donation today.

“The Herald’s mission is providing local news in Albany and the surrounding area and providing merchants with a vehicle to promote their business,” Gebhart said. “It’s something we’ve been doing since 1891. Our goal is to persevere in this important work. We need your help to continue that pursuit. Please consider subscribing or donating today.

“The motto I’ve coined for our organization is ‘Strive to survive and then we will thrive.’ The reality is this can only happen with the help of our loyal readers. While I’m an optimist, I’m also a realist. Our path forward needs to include local partners that want to see us survive. Ultimately our survival and our future is in God’s hands, and I learned a long time ago He can be trusted.”