Newspaper industry veteran Linda Gilmore has been named as publisher of the Picayune Item by Keith Ponder, Vice-president and Sun Belt Division Manager of the Item’s parent company Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.

“Linda has a great deal of valuable experience and talent that she brings with her to Picayune and I’m delighted she’ll be leading our team serving Picayune and Pearl River County,” Ponder said.

Gilmore grew up in Oklahoma, where she attended high school and college. She started in the newspaper business in 1983 as a customer service representative with the Northwest Arkansas Times in Fayetteville. She quickly climbed through the ranks in a variety of positions in the industry; her last was with Neighbor Newspapers where she served as the New Revenue Manager. Her responsibilities included developing new revenue streams through niche publications and special sections for 22 community newspapers in Northwest Arkansas, Southwest Missouri and Northeast Oklahoma.

It was her leadership and work in small markets that made Gilmore the front-runner for the position Ponder said. “I’ve known of Linda’s work in the advertising side of our business for some time and had watched her develop the skills required to lead a community newspaper.”

Gilmore says, “I believe that the goal of a hometown newspaper should be to provide accurate and reliable coverage of local government, school news and sports, weddings, births, church news, and all the other happenings that are specific to the communities we serve. These are issues and events that are unique to our communities and are not covered by other media. We are the most reliable and the most accessible.”

Gilmore began her responsibilities in early February and has been busy meeting community members, readers, advertisers and community leaders. Her first project at the Item included the Progress Edition published in today’s newspaper.

Gilmore has one daughter Corey, 27, and one son, Marcus, 25.

“Corey is in grad school at the University of Arkansas Little Rock; Marcus just graduated from the University of Central Arkansas. I am very proud of both of them,” she says with a big smile.

Her personal goals are to get out and be involved in the community.

“This is my home now and I am going to put down roots,” Gilmore said.

The Item has served Picayune and the Pearl River County community for 106 years, committed to service and to the craft of community journalism.