A couple of weeks ago, we told you in a news story that the Bladen Journal had been sold by its parent company Civitas Media — along with our other sister newspapers in North Carolina and South Carolina.

That news, while possibly not registering very high on your radar, was incredibly good news to us for a variety of reasons — not the least of which is that it took us from being under a corporate ownership to the family-owned company of Champion Media.

Almost as soon as the ink had dried on the contract, we began to see and hear about changes. Positive changes.

While there are a litany of areas where the decision-makers within Champion Media will tackle the challenges of rebuilding where Civitas Media had previously and methodically torn down, the immediate changes will be little more than who signs the checks, deposits the revenue and the name on the Page 2 staff box.

But also in the works is a change in email addresses. At the Bladen Journal, we have thankfully dropped the hard-to-say and hard-to-spell civitasmedia.com for the previously well-known and friendly bladenjournal.com. So, if you are sending something to GM/Editor W. Curt Vincent, you will use cvincent@s24515.p831.sites.pressdns.com; if you are sending to Staff Writer Chrysta Carroll, you will use ccarroll@s24515.p831.sites.pressdns.com; if you are sending to Customer Service Rep Olivia Shaw, you will use oshaw@s24515.p831.sites.pressdns.com.

Did we hear a collective THANK YOU!?

As things progress, you will start seeing new business cards bearing the Champion Media logo. In several weeks, there will also be a noticeable upgrade in the design of Bladen Journal pages — especially the section fronts — as we are able to cast aside the boring, 1980s-style of templates forced up all Civitas Media newspapers. That alone will foster an atmosphere or creativity that will allow each Champion Media newspaper to secure its own identity.

“We want each of our newspapers to reflect their communities,” said Champion Media owner Scott Champion. “No more cookie-cutter mandates.”

Although there is a myriad of operational and functional issues to handle, we are also hopeful that the company’s website — which many of you have complained about over the recent past as being difficult to navigate, unattractive and a pop-up nightmare — will be changed for the better.

All of this, which is really just the tip of the iceberg, will take time, of course. But it’s suddenly an exciting time for the employees of Champion Media — perhaps the first one in years. And we are hopeful that we can show that excitement by bringing you a better newspaper and website along the way.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” (Socrates)