When he comes into work this morning, Barry Ginter will have two things on his to-do list: Change the voicemail message on his new phone, and head out to meet as many people has he can in the community that recently became his home.
Today, Ginter begins his duties as editor of the Nevada Appeal, replacing Barry Smith, who left the newspaper to become executive director of the Nevada Press Association on Feb. 24.
For the last three years, Ginter, 41, has been the city editor at The Olympian, a 40,000-circulation paper in Olympia, Wash. After obtaining a bachelor's degree in English, with minors in writing and business administration, from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1989, Ginter began his career in journalism as a writer for The Rice Lake Chronotype in Wisconsin.
He has also worked at The Winona Daily News in Minnesota and The Sheboygan Press in Wisconsin before being named assistant city editor at The Post Register in Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was later named city editor there before moving to The Olympian.
Ginter said that while the newspaper industry will continue to face challenges, he chose to come to the Appeal because of the strong foundation laid by Smith. He said he hopes to improve on that foundation.
"We will continue to be a watchdog for the community and continue to provide local content to our readers," Ginter said. "But there are a lot of great opportunities for change, including the use of the Internet."
"It's an exciting time to be in newspapers," he said.
Ginter said the focus of the Appeal will continue to be local news.
"Newspapers are a vital part of the community. It's a big responsibility, this job, and the responsibility is higher here because it's the capital city," Ginter said.
Ginter said the size and location of Carson City was a contributing factor in his decision to come to Nevada.
"I like that it's small enough that people can drop by and talk with the editor or the mayor, and I encourage them to do that," Ginter said.
"I fell in love with the mountains and the lakes around here. When I'm not here, you can find me in the outdoors hiking, camping or canoeing. Nevada seems to be a perfect fit."
The Nevada Appeal is the largest paper of seven in the Sierra Nevada Media Group, which is owned by Swift Newspapers Inc.
-- Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.