Editor's Corner
Goodbye, Virginia Business

This is the last Editor’s Corner I will write for Virginia Business magazine. By the time you read this column, I will be starting a new job as manager of external communications for Media General Inc., the Richmond-based company that owns this publication and many others.

By Karl Rhodes Executive Editor

On my way out the door, allow me to take back all those nasty things I said about PR guys. "External communications" is a tough job, and somebody’s gotta do it. There are few companies that I would flack for, but Media General has a top-to-bottom integrity that will make my new job much easier. (Besides, PR guys make more money than magazine editors.)


I leave Virginia Business in the hands of several accomplished editors, including Leigh Anne Larance, Nicolee Stevens Simpson, Leila Ugincius and Bob Burke. These four folks rank high among the many people who have made me look better than I deserved during my 14-year career here.

I particularly appreciate the opportunities that the magazine’s publisher, Jim Bacon, gave me during those years. I started as a cub reporter and worked my way up to Richmond regional editor, associate editor, managing editor and executive editor.

The late Jim Dillon, the magazine’s founding publisher, once called me "the most promoted young person I have ever known." In proper context, the quote was more of a cut than a compliment, but I always suspected that Dillon had confidence in my abilities.

Just a few weeks before he died of cancer, he telephoned from the hospital with an idea to start a new publication, and he wanted to put me in charge of it. I asked him how many people I could hire to do the job, and he said, "Well ... I think you and an intern could handle it."

Interns have indeed helped me greatly over the years at Virginia Business. But the Virginia Business talent pool is by no means limited to its editorial department: Over the years, I have worked with phenomenal people in advertising, production and circulation. Together we have made this magazine one of the most successful statewide business publications in the country, but we can’t take all the credit. Many of our best ideas have come from readers — we were just smart enough to solicit your input and follow your advice.

Last but not least, the success of Virginia Business is a reflection of the dynamic business community that this magazine serves. Virginia is a wonderful state with a history that’s rich and a future that’s great. The Old Dominion is full of business people who balance the pursuit of profit with a genuine concern for their employees, customers and communities. Boom states such as California, Texas and Florida may be more prosperous in the short run, but they lack Virginia’s keen corporate sense of right and wrong.

So there you have it: my swan song at Virginia Business – self-promoting prose packed with backslapping, brown-nosing and flag-waving. Yeah, I know: It reads like something a PR guy would write.