Through Neighbor News, the newspaper division of Bentonville, Ark.-based Community Publishers Inc., sister publications in Christian County are now under the guidance of Amelia Wigton. An eight-year associate editor with Christian County Headliner News, Wigton succeeds Editor Donna Osborn, who retired after 15 years. Wigton also took the reins on Oct. 20 from Nixa Xpress Editor Ryan Bowling, who moved to Guaranty Bank to work in public relations. A Belton-native and mother of four, she leads a staff of three through a restructuring period for the award-winning weekly publications that combined have a circulation of roughly 4,700.
Beyond Belton “Before I came to the Headliner, I worked at a weekly newspaper in Kansas City for two years: The Cass County Democrat. Before that, I worked at a daily newspaper in Texas. … We spent two years there until we had our first child. Then, we decided to move back home and be closer to family. … My family is in the Kansas City area, but my husband’s family is here in Christian County. They live in the Sparta area. We live in Sparta. His family brought us down here.”
‘Perfect Storm’ “It happened simultaneously. I’ve been calling it the perfect storm. Donna had been planning on retiring, but the timing with Ryan leaving was completely coincidental. … Right now, it’s me and I have one reporter, and one sports editor, and we are covering both newspapers. I have another person starting (last) week, and then we’ll be looking to hire one other. What it will hopefully be is me, three staff reporters, and the sports editor – that’s for both publications.
Crossover “Christian County has seven school districts, and we cover every single one of them. It’s the same with sports. … The Headliner comes out on Wednesdays, and the Xpress comes out on Fridays. There is opportunity for crossover because there are some things that all of our readers want to read about. However, as editor, I plan on not having much crossover. I really want the newspapers to be independent.”
Training Day “That change isn’t going to happen overnight. It is going to take a few months to work up to that. I have a young staff right now, and we are in a transition period. I’m not new to this area or this publication, but being editor is new to me – especially over the Nixa Xpress. I’m in my comfort zone at the Headliner. … We’re sister papers and we have done a lot together, but I’ve never had to take on the Nixa Xpress. It’s going to take a few months of transition and staff training – it’s going to take a while to be where we want to be.”
Challenge Ready “I am definitely up for the challenge. I have a heart for this. Community journalism is my passion. It is what I do. It’s what I went to school for, and it’s what I’ve been doing ever since I graduated from Missouri State. … I know we will continue to be an award-winning paper, and the Nixa Xpress is going to continue to be an award-winning paper, as well. We are not going to be taking any steps backwards. … I live here. I work here. I’m involved with our chamber of commerce. I do my shopping here. I know what’s going on in these towns. I want to share people’s stories. I just want to be that local news source that Christian County has come to rely on.”
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
