Pennsylvania native Bryan Osborn is the new publisher for The Laurinburg Exchange. Osborn replaced Denny Koenders on June 14 when the latter accepted the position of publisher for the Newberry Observer in Newberry, S.C.

Osborn comes to Scotland County with almost two decades of newspaper experience and a stint in Augusta, Ga. as publisher of the alternative weekly magazine Metro Spirit. His first position in the newspaper industry was that of an account executive for the Journal Register Company in Norristown, Pa. where he "fell in love" with print journalism.

"I worked my way up, learning as I went along," Osborn said from his office at the Exchange. "I asked for more responsibilities as I gained more experience in the business, and have held various managerial roles in several dailies."

In addition to his work at the Journal Register, Osborn's positions have included various management roles in South Carolina for the McClatchy newspaper company and for Lee Enterprises, Inc.

In Nov. 2007, Osborn was named publisher of Metro Spirit, where he "learned more about the news side" of publishing as a result of his position.

"I knew some owners of alternative weekly publications in Georgia, and when the opportunity came to become the publisher of Metro Spirit, I felt I couldn't turn it down," Osborn said. "I've always had a strong interest in the arts and in entertainment, and thought a move to a publication that had a young, artistic readership would be a logical next step in my career."

Osborn compared the role of a disc jockey to that of a newspaper publisher, an analogy he calls "strange" but accurate.

"How I publish a newspaper is in some ways similar to the role of a club DJ," he said. "I'm not the talent; the writers and the design people do that. But my job is to mix the elements together like a sound engineer, with input from the community, and hopefully 'fill the dance floor' with readers. We believe it is what you want to read, but if we see it's not working we will reevaluate."

As publisher of the Laurinburg Exchange, Osborn hopes that his experience of reaching out to younger readers at Metro Spirit will benefit Scotland County as well.

"There are two types of younger readers, the 18 to 45 age group, and the grade school to high school years," he said. "The challenge is how to get these young people to read newspapers, because if these ages aren't reading, the newspaper industry is in trouble."

Still, Osborn believes community newspapers such as the Laurinburg Exchange have a bright future.

"A small town daily newspaper is still the watchdog for the community, and remains the best way for local people to get their news," he said. "These types of newspapers will never go away, but will continue to strengthen and grow as they evolve with the times."

Osborn plans to "take his lead" from the community regarding the direction the Laurinburg Exchange should follow.

"I will listen to community members on what is important to read and to look at, in print and online, since the visual is just as important as the content," he said. "We will continue to be a good partner with the community, to report both sides of the news as much as possible, and to look for as many positive stories as we can find. I am happy to be in Scotland County, and look forward to being a contributing member of this community for a long time to come."

Osborn said his impressions of Laurinburg have been only favorable thus far.

"Everyone has been 'over the top' friendly to me since I've arrived, from the check out clerks at the grocery store to my real estate agent," he said.