Ronnie Bell named News-Times general manager

Betty Chatham retires after nearly 40 years of service

Ronnie Bell has been named general manager of the El Dorado News-Times to succeed Betty Chatham, who has retired.
Ronnie Bell has been named general manager of the El Dorado News-Times to succeed Betty Chatham, who has retired.
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For over 38 years, Betty Chatham, general manager for the El Dorado (Ark.) News-Times, has made it her passion to be a part of local newspapers in her community. Recently, her career came to a close as she moves on to enjoy retirement.

Starting at the News-Times on Dec. 22, 1976, as a proof runner, her career progressed as she sold ads for the advertising department, became advertising manager and made her way to general management in 1995 for the Magnolia (Ark.) Banner-News.

In 2007, she took the reins as general manager of the News-Times and has enjoyed working with her peers as well as building a rapport with the public.

Reminiscing on her illustrious career, she explained that she wants to be remembered for being fair to both employees and readers alike.

"As far as the newspaper as a whole, I'm very proud of our newspapers in education, it's one of the best in the state and a lot of people don't realize that. I was also here for the 125 years of history project that we put out last year; I am so proud of what we accomplished," she said.

She explained that, in retirement, she wants to take it easy and work on some projects that she would like to complete.

"I'm really going to miss the people. When you have been here this long, they are family. I hope that the News-Times will be able to serve the citizens of Union County with the best product that we can put out. To the readers, thank you for your comments, your faithfulness and being subscribers. I thank our carriers for delivering a product 365 days a year, even in storms and on holidays. I thank our advertisers, anyone who has contributed a photo, news release article, or has given us constructive criticism and the employees who come to work every day and through their hard work are able to publish a quality product," she said.

As for who will be taking her place? Former Harrison (Ark.) Daily Times Publisher Ronnie Bell has been named as the new general manager of the News-Times. With over 44 years of experience, he is passionate about community newspapers.

"I love them and I have seen what they can do for communities, as far as helping to provide positive impact. When this opportunity became available, I was very interested because I have two daughters that live in Arkansas and I wanted to be close to them, because there's nothing like family," he explained.

He noted that his first association with a newspaper was as a carrier, and as he grew older, he knew he wanted to be in newspapers for the rest of his life.

"I feel like I am among the luckiest people in the world. There is no other product like a newspaper. We are a news-gathering organization, an advertising vehicle and we are a product because of that. Just to consider that you can put out a brand new product every day in a 24-hour cycle is a pretty miraculous thing to me, even to this day. People don't understand sometimes how many people are involved, how much organization and how critical deadlines are. I guess that is the thing that keeps people so interested and engaged in it," he said.

Explaining that he has some "big shoes to fill," he said he hopes to bring his years of experience and bring some new ideas to the table as well as accept input from the community.

"I believe that a newspaper can and should be a reflection of the community that it serves and should also serve as a leader and a cheerleader of the community. There is an awfully good team here and Betty has done a great job. I am convinced that the professionals here can make it happen," he said.

Before arriving in El Dorado, he explained that he got several mixed reviews from outsiders in the state.

"People told me that it was different down here, and yes, it is different. We have a performing arts auditorium, the South Arkansas Arts Center, the symphony plays on a regular basis, and there is a steady stream of talented performers that come here. The store fronts are beautiful, there are many eateries downtown, and we have a convention center. They are right, it is very different for a small town and El Dorado has a lot more going for it than other towns do. It's way ahead for a town its size," he explained.

A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi (which he noted is also the alma mater of NFL star Brett Favre and musician Jimmy Buffett), he holds a bachelor's degree in marketing. He and his wife, Greta, have two children, Allison and Bethany; two grandchildren, Andrew and Caroline; and two fur-babies, a Shih-tzu/ Dachshund mix, Maggie, and a Mini Dachshund/ Wire-Haired Dachshund mix, Mitzi.

"One thing I will say is that I have an open door policy, our public and the readers are always welcome to call. I welcome input on things they would like to see in the paper, things that we are not providing that they would like to see or if they would just like to sit down and chew the fat. I work that way internally and with the public. I hope the readers rely on us for the latest and most complete news and information in El Dorado and the surrounding areas as their source for local news and information," he said.

El Dorado, Chatham, Bell
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