AUJRNL 4970
The Greensboro Watchman
The only newspaper printed and published in Hale County since 1876...
The Watchwoman
About the Editor
Politics, religion, race and social change in Alabama’s Black Belt. The Greensboro Watchmen has covered it all. With its old-fashioned press and historical appearance, ‘the Watchman’ as they call it, has managed to capture the stories of Greensboro, Alabama, since 1876.
Today, the brains behind this success is editor and publisher Rebecca ‘Becky’ Johnson.
Running The Watchman is not just a job for Johnson. It is a personal family commitment.
After graduating from Auburn University, Johnson worked for more than four decades in publication and photography fields before taking over the family business.
In 1986, Johnson’s uncle, the late Edward E. Lowry, purchased the business from the family of the late Editor-Publisher N.H. "Hamner" Cobbs. When Johnson’s uncle passed in 1999, she became active with the newspaper.
“At my Uncle Ed's death in 1999, his younger sister, my aunt Willie Jean L. Arrington, who had worked for The Watchman since she was a teenager, became Editor-Publisher,” said Johnson.
She began helping her ‘Aunt Willie’ with the weekly newspaper while commuting back and forth from her home in Madison, Alabama. When her aunt passed on Oct. 15, 2012, she took the reins of The Watchman.
Taking on the role her aunt had filled for 62 years, Johnson was faced with the multiple challenges of running a weekly newspaper.
“My Aunt Willie knew everything about how to run the newspaper. Her life was the newspaper. She knew the policies and procedures that carried the Watchman, but she kept all her knowledge inside her head. I didn’t know anything about running a newspaper, but I knew I had to do it. “
Although her aunt was no longer present, Johnson still had the support of her sister Rachel and her uncle, the late Waymon Johnson, who worked as a full-time employee with her aunt.
But Johnson and the Watchman hit another wall when her uncle Waymon died from Stage IV lung cancer in 2014, just two years after her aunt’s death..
“I was back in a state of ‘what now?’ Waymon knew how to run the paper just as my aunt. I then began to learn everything I needed to know from press law to postal regulations to how to go to press,” recalled Johnson.
With the help of her supportive family and staff, Johnson has managed to keep the historical essence of the newspaper alive.
“Here at The Watchman and in Greensboro, we are family. We have each other’s back. We don’t work for the money, but because we love the newspaper and Greensboro,” Johnson stated.
She said she believes it is important to maintain the authentic form of the newspaper because that is all Greensboro has known.
“I can never write at the Watchman office because every time I get started someone comes in and just starts to chat, and that’s what I love about Greensboro. “
Whether it is a story about the high school football team or a wedding announcement, Johnson said that everyone has a voice and a story and what better way to show that through the community newspaper.
“I am convinced that newspapers won’t soon die out. There’s something different about cutting out a column of a baby’s christening and scrapbooking it versus posting it on Facebook for it to be hidden in the archives,” said Johnson.
Johnson is known for pushing readers to not be stuck in the past. She surrounds herself with positive people who help promote change for the good in Greensboro, according to staff members.
“I told Mrs. Becky when she is ready to leave, I am going with her. I love the way she runs the Watchman. She doesn’t let anyone walk over her. She stands for what is right,” Leslie Chambers, the Watchman’s office manager and reporter, said.
Johnson is not sure what the future of the Watchman will be, but she committed to keeping the legacy alive.
“We are here to get the citizens out of their bubble and open them to new experiences and ideas. It is our duty at The Watchman to serve the community and all its people.”
Watching Out For Greensboro
About "the Watchman"
The Greensboro Watchman is known as, “the only newspaper printed and published in Hale County since 1876”, as it states on the masthead of the community weekly.
The Watchman, as they called it in Greensboro, is run by editor and publisher Rebecca “Becky” Johnson. Her uncle, Edward E. Lowry, purchased the newspaper from the late N.H. “Hamner” Cobbs in 1968.
With its old-fashion design and black and white print, The Watchman manages to capture the life of Greensboro and its people. It usually runs between eight and ten pages.
“We sent out a survey asking the community if they want to keep the same form of the newspaper or change it. Many people preferred to keep the style the same. It has a unique meaning to Greensboro,” stated Johnson.
The Watchman is printed in house every Wednesday and in local newspaper racks that afternoon. The paper, with a circulation of 2,568, covers local news, sports, business, jobs and community events. It also has a devotional page, weekly recipes, and personals from residents in Greensboro. Annual subscriptions cost between $15 and $32.
The Greensboro Watchman is located in downtown Greensboro on a corner at 1005 Market St. The brick building is labeled with the title of the newspaper in a mint green color.
Along with Johnson, the staff includes Johnson’s sister, Rachel Sharpe, circulation manager; Gail Waller, associate editor; Leslie Chambers, office manager and reporter; Ellis Hoskins, pre-press and mailing facilities, and Wade Cook, pressman.
The Watchman also receives outside weekly columns from Mychal Massie, founder and chairman of the Racial Policy Center, Perry Beasley and Brother L. Roy, an ordained minister.
“We’re family, we’ve got each other’s back! There is no time clock here. In between these walls there is a community, and it’s the only thing that matters, “ said Johnson.
