20 Under 40 - 2005 Profile: Jim Rainey

PRESSTIME

By Presstime Magazine

First Published: December 2005

Opelika-Auburn News, Opelika, Ala. | Publisher

There's no shortage of news to be reported in eastern Alabama. However, for the publisher of a small daily, there often is a lack of money to spread the word.

Determined to create a buzz about the Opelika-Auburn News' new look in late 2004, Publisher Jim Rainey and his team contacted everyone in town who had a marquee—including churches and restaurants. Promote the words "Check Out the New O-A News" for one week, they said, and get free ad space in return.

"I don't think there was a marquee in town they missed," says Alan Davis, regional publisher of Community Newspapers of Alabama, part of Media General Inc. in Richmond, Va., which owns the paper.

Looking for new ways to do business is essential to the long-term health of newspapers, particularly those with limited budgets, says Rainey, 39. "Innovation is the key to life in this industry," he says. "We have to be willing to take chances."

Whether focusing his efforts on building a new business office and print facility to serve the News' rapidly growing market, or fostering improved communications within his 70-employee staff, Rainey is committed to thinking creatively.

Rainey started his newspaper career in 1990 as a sports writer and editor in his native Georgia. After covering education, crime and courts in the Greater Atlanta area, he moved to the tiny town of Elberton, Ga., where he eventually became publisher of The Elberton Star.

Rainey returned to reporting a short time later but was quickly drawn back to the business side. He served as associate publisher of the Fulton County (Ga.) Daily Report in Atlanta before joining the Opelika-Auburn News in 2002.

"I truly have a love for community newspapers," Rainey says. "I really believe we have an important role to play in the day-to-day life of our community."