February 3, 2003
Paper to revamp with 'Georgia-centric' plan
___ATLANTA--One week after Editor Bill Neal was forced into early retirement, the board of directors of Georgia's Christian Index met to ratify his retirement plans and cast a new vision for the nation's oldest Baptist newspaper.
___According to a report published by the Index Jan. 27, the board held a Jan. 25 meeting at which Neal's retirement plans were finalized and the dismissal of three other Index employees was affirmed.
___The dismissals cut half the newspaper's staff. No specific reasons were given for Neal's early retirement or the other dismissals.
___The board named Associate Editor Joe Westbury interim editor. Westbury is a five-year employee of the Index with previous writing and editing roles at the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board, Home Mission Board and Brotherhood Commission. He also twice was public relations director at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.
___A news release from the board outlined a plan to "revamp" the paper and "redirect the resources of the Index to enable it to be more effective, more responsive, in telling the story of how God is working through our churches."
___The board's new vision for the paper is to be "Georgia-centric," the release said.
___"The Index clearly has an imbalance of news which occurs outside of our state. While there is nothing wrong with reporting what is happening around the world, I feel the paper could be more effective by providing more news unique to Georgia Baptists," board member Becky Watters of Douglasville, Ga., said.
___The Index will continue to include some news, the board said, but priority will be given to stories that "directly affect ministry and evangelism in the state."
___Explained board member Darrell Henry of Chickamauga, Ga.: "We are talking about implementing a formula that will take the Index from being a passive teller of what has already happened to being a pro-active force in shaping the future of Georgia--a future that will result in more of our fellow residents experiencing faith in Jesus Christ."
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