James Keith Blevins, the former publisher of the Dalton Daily Citizen, died on Saturday in Valdosta.
“Keith built great relationships in our community for the newspaper,” said Jeff Mutter, the general manager of the Dalton Daily Citizen. “He made sure that the newspaper kept its integrity in delivering a great news product as well as a great advertising vehicle to help with the success of local businesses.”
Blevins served as the publisher of the Dalton Daily Citizen in the early to mid 1990s.
Blevins was named vice president and manager of Community Newspaper Holdings Inc.’s Southeast Division in the early 2000s. He later became the chief operating officer of CNHI, the parent company of the Dalton Daily Citizen.
“He was very vivacious and a gregarious personality,” said Otis Raybon, who served as publisher of the Dalton Daily Citizen in the late 1990s. “He was immediately likable.”
Raybon, 70, met Blevins in the late 1980s. Blevins took over publishing duties in Americus when Raybon accepted a new role in Griffin.
“He understood newspapers very deeply,” the Rome resident recounted. “Then we were more mechanical than we are digital … we were just at that point beginning to move from a typographic print format to electronic.”
When it came to the transition, Raybon said Blevins was well ahead of the curve.
“Keith had the aptitude to learn those new processes and advances that were coming,” he said.
Raybon said Blevins was a terrific spokesman for the community.
“He was a good leader, his employees liked him,” Raybon said. “He always encouraged them to do their best and to be the best, because he knew that way his newspapers were providing the best newspaper possible for that community.”
Mutter knew Blevins since the early 1980s. The two worked together at the Bluefield Daily Telegraph in West Virginia.
“Keith left the Telegraph in 1985 and I transferred here to Dalton in 1989 as the advertising director of the Daily Citizen-News,” Mutter said. “Keith then came in as publisher in 1990 … so I had the pleasure of working with Keith off and on for over 40 years.”
Raybon said Blevins was always approachable and willing to lend advice.
“He helped bring the community together in Dalton, just as he did in most newspapers,” Raybon said. “Keith, he was a collaborator, he could work with people of all different walks and beliefs and differences. He could bring people to the table and get agreement and discussion of some very important topics in Dalton and other newspapers he worked for.”
Mutter recalls Blevins as the kind of person you always wanted to be around — and would follow into any battle.
“Keith was a gentle, God-fearing man,” he said. “Someone that I always looked up to and tried to model my management style after. He was tough but always treated you with respect.”
Blevins’ greater impact on the CNHI network, Raybon said, is unmistakable.
“I think Keith probably felt for the need for independence of local newspapers, to be able to continue to write, report and manage business in the best interest of that community rather than the best interest of the corporation,” he said. “He never forgot the importance of staying in touch with local readers, local businessmen and businesswomen, and understanding their needs to keep their doors open and also attract employees that were trained or trainable.”
A celebration of life service is scheduled Saturday, Dec. 2, at 11 a.m. at Carson McLane Funeral Home in Valdosta.
Raybon said there’s no doubt what the greatest life lesson he learned from Blevins is.
“Friendship,” he recalled.