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From broadcasting to newspapers, Backus mad jump and loves it By LISA CARNAHAN Marty Backus may not have started his media career in newspapers but he certainly bleeds ink now. Publisher of the Appalachian News-Express in Pikeville and this year’s president of the Kentucky Press Association, Backus got his start in radio. He even worked in television before he saw the light and entered the newspaper industry some 23 years ago. Backus’ career not only transcends the boundaries between print and broadcast, it also breaks that rigid barrier between news and sales. He’s done it all — from reporter (news and sports) to news director, and ad director to anchor. Now, nestled in the state’s largest county, he’s publisher of a multi-weekly newspaper that has a bigger circulation than 10 of the state’s 24 dailies. And he couldn’t be happier. Backus doesn’t shy away from controversy Backus’ background in news and sales most likely molded him into the type of publisher he is today: one that loves an aggressive news department as much as a blood-thirsty sales department. He doesn’t shy away from controversy, even when it translates into lost sales. Take the most recent ongoing controversy involving a columnist, Larry “Red Dog” Webster. Webster, a former owner of the paper and a local attorney, writes a weekly column for the News-Express that’s often controversial. He also writes a column for the Lexington Herald-Leader. The latest episode came when Webster wrote in a column that a local high school cheerleading squad’s national title was fake and likened it to a beauty pageant that could be bought at a drug store. Or in Webster’s own words, “like one of those Little Miss Walgreen Drug Stores Miss USA Pageants, where you pay to compete with only the few others who pay.” The fact Webster’s column contains an explanatory graph at the end with the disclaimer “Red Dog often contains satire and is not always meant to be taken literally,” didn’t appease the locals. Unidentified parties launched a campaign against the newspaper that included ads in the News-Express, radio spots on all the area stations and television ads on the local CBS affiliate, WYMT-TV, all calling for a boycott of the newspaper. What was Backus’ reaction? “I couldn't afford to buy this much publicity,” he said. He even had bumper stickers printed that read “I Support Red Dog & The Appalachian News-Express.” Backus says he acquired his philosophy for running a newspaper from his former radio boss and the most influential person in his career, the late Bill Becker. “We were working in West Virginia and Bill heard a rumor that Island Creek Coal was moving its headquarters out of Holden, W.Va.,” Backus said. “They called us in for a meeting, it was Bill and I and the head guy for Island Creek Coal. He started ‘reminding’ us that they were our largest advertiser and I’ll never forget what Bill told him. He told him that if he started letting advertisers tell him what to report, he’d have no credibility and he might was well let them run his whole radio staff.” And while he says he’s “not on a crusade,” Backus’ newspaper has tackled some tough issues and taken stands against influential people in the region. “I keep the advertising department as far to one side away from the newsroom as possible and I’m sure it’s cost me some money,” he said. “But I can’t let what folks spend dictate what this newspaper reports. I feel like we try and give them all the facts and let the readers make their own judgment.” More than a business partner Working close by Backus’ side is his wife, Judy. Far more than the newspaper’s office manager, Judy is one of the key reasons for the paper’s success. “Judy really has been instrumental in our achievements here,” said Backus. “She was very reluctant to get into this business...but she jumped in when I needed her and taught herself everything on the computers. And now she says she’s got ink her blood, too, and there’s no other job she’d rather have.” The couple met in 1984, during Backus’ stint as ad director at the News-Express. “I was doing this really great promotion, a “Who’s Who Contest,” he said. “It was my first really good idea.” Good in more ways than one, considering the outcome. Backus went to the Pikeville Dawahare’s where Judy had just started working as the Estee’ Lauder representative. “I walked in the store, saw her and thought ‘that’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen’...and I took her picture for the promotion,” he recalled. The two celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary June 16. The secret to their personal success? “I can honestly say we work really well together,” said Backus. “And in all these 16 years, we’ve never had a serious argument. Never gone to bed mad.” Judy adds, “...and we tell each other we love each other every time we talk, even when it’s for a minute or two on the phone at work.” A state-of-the-art facility in the heart of the mountains Under the corporate owner of Lancaster Newspapers, Inc., The News-Express recently completed a long-anticipated multi-million dollar construction and renovation plan. A grand opening was held last December and Gov. Paul Patton made the trip back to his home county to christen the new facility. The News-Express now encompasses an entire city block in downtown Pikeville and houses state-of-the-art computers and a new press that doubled the paper’s color printing capabilities. The 26,000 square-foot office structure is tastefully decorated throughout and features a large conference room that’s being used by several area groups for meetings. The newspaper building also has two break rooms for employees, one with a full kitchen, and a large private bathroom with showers for the pressroom crew. Prior to the new construction, the News-Express staff was split between two floors, a work environment not conducive to productivity. “We had the composing room, dark room and bookkeeping all on the second floor,” said Backus. “We had some employees making 15 to 20 trips a day up and down stairs.” Work began on the new facility in September 1999 and was completed last year. “I’ve wanted a larger building for the newspaper since I came back here in 1990,” said Backus, who noted the renovation and construction was delayed twice. “We finally got some people in here (from the corporate office) who realized we did need to expand.” “This has been a dream of mine for a long time...and it’s something that shows the rest of the state of Kentucky that to be in Eastern Kentucky you don’t have to be behind the times,” he said. How it all began Backus was born in Beckley, W.Va., the son of a railroader and dress shop owner. After high school graduation, he entered West Virginia Wesleyan College for what he called a “not so successful tenure.” After “flip-flopping” between programs, he eventually ended up with a two-year certificate in broadcasting from a junior college in Washington, D.C. “The first place I went was a radio station in Logan, W.Va., which was a great place...it’s just like Eastern Kentucky,” said Backus. “I cut my teeth on murder indictments and crooked elections. Young people need to know that Eastern Kentucky, working at a small newspaper, is a great place to start. You won’t get pigeon-holed into doing one thing, like obituaries. You’ll get to do it all. There’s no more exciting place for news than the mountains.” Backus has four children, from a previous marriage, and 11 grandchildren. His son Marty Jr., is a publisher in Waldron, Ark., at another Lancaster operation. When Marty and his first wife divorced, his youngest daughter, Robin, who was 16 at the time, chose to live with him, and she calls Judy “Mom.” By 1979, after 13 years in broadcasting (11 at the radio station in Logan, W.Va., and two spent as anchor at WSAZ-TV in Huntington, W.Va.), Backus knew he had gone as far as he could in a family-owned operation. Happening at about the same time, Tom George, publisher of the Logan (W.Va.) Banner, bought the Appalachian Express from Larry Webster. He then later purchased the older, established paper in Pike County, the Pike County News, and merged the two papers into the News-Express. “I was courted to come over here and be ad director,” said Backus. “I knew I could sell...I just had to learn the lingo.” In 1986, Backus was given a publisher’s slot in Madison, W.Va. On his sixth day there, the entire staff walked out, taking the paper’s two largest accounts with them, and opened a competing newspaper. “That’s how I got Judy into the business with me...I begged and begged her to come in and take care of the books,” said Backus. After 22 months in Madison, Backus was brought back to Kentucky to run the Floyd County Times in Prestonsburg which had been bought by the predecessor to Lancaster management, Smith Newspapers. While at Prestonsburg, Backus moved the paper to publishing from once to twice a week, but all the while making it known how much he wanted to return to Pikeville. The Lancaster group had purchased the Pikeville paper but it was still being managed by Smith Newspapers. Three weeks before the Smiths’ management contract expired at Pikeville in 1990, the newspaper’s publisher (a friend of Backus’) had the opportunity to move to another location better suited for him and Backus was given the chance he’d been waiting for. “It was basically a case of the squeaky wheel gets the attention,” he said. “I was moved ahead of all the Lancaster people. I had 30 minutes notice that I had an interview with the Lancaster corporate folks in Gadsden, Ala. I spent half a day convincing them why I was the best choice for Pikeville. Judy and I did a pretty good sales job that day and it’s been an amazingly enjoyable ride with the Lancasters ever since.” The innovative approach Backus likes to try new things at his newspaper. One of his pet peeves is the staunch, never-bend attitude that’s plagued the newspaper industry for decades. “I believe the one thing that disappointed me about newspapers when I started in this business is the lack of an aggressive sales approach,” said Backus. “This attitude of ‘you know where we are if you want to place and ad...and by the way, our office closes at 5’. And a rate card that told you all the things you couldn’t do. “I like to try and be fairly innovative with our paper. We take ideas we see other places and try them out.” One such idea is selling advertising on the plastic bags that newspapers are wrapped in during inclement weather. That was successful. Another winning idea that Backus said came from his staff is the recent publication of “The Smoky Mountain Getaway Guide,” a 20-page tab that details all the activities available in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. The employees knew it was a hot vacation spot for Pike Countians and capitalized on that knowledge. The tab featured full color on each page and it was chock full of advertising. “Newspapers need to get rid of the stuffed-shirt image,” said Backus. “We like to have fun with our product here in Pikeville. We do straw votes, which by the way aren’t popular with the candidates because people buy a bunch of papers and stuff the ballots...but people love ‘em and it sells newspapers. We also do a ‘Best in the Valley’ contest and it’s the same way. One year we had somebody come in off the street and buy 150 newspapers so they could fill them out for a business. But the businesses love to have that framed certificate calling them the ‘Best in the Valley’ hanging in their front lobby.” Backus doesn’t regret the time he spent in radio and television and believes it broadened his outlook and understanding of the media. But, he’s glad he made the career move he did in 1978. “There is no more challenging business than newspapers,” said Backus. “I like the idea of being somewhere where there’s almost always something that’s so difficult or overwhelming that you think ‘my God, I’m not qualified to handle this’ - but somehow you do, you get it done and end up saying to yourself ‘I enjoyed today.’ That’s a tremendous feeling.” KPA and the industry Backus will serve the remainder of 2001 as president of the Kentucky Press Association and remain on the Board of Directors for an additional year as past president of the organization. “I think now more than ever is the time to become involved with KPA,” said Backus. “It’s one hand washing the other, the association and the industry. With the KPA central office located in Frankfort, we have a front porch view of state government and its activities. One of my goals is to make sure we protect our public notice advertising, which I feel right now is being threatened by the internet. I want to make sure we have a safety plan and that it’s up and operating. “The association keeps us informed of new laws and any changes to existing laws that affect us. KPA expertly watches out for our interests when the legislature is in session. Kentucky newspapers need to recognize this and be actively involved in the association. If we don’t watch out for ourselves, making every technical upgrade we can possibly afford, we’ll become the dinosaur industry our competitors already say we are. We can’t be afraid of change.”
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