Media sales executive and Mississippi Delta native Clifton Clements Odom has joined the staff of The Meridian Star as general manager and sales director, Rebecca Alexander, regional publisher for Carpenter Media Group, has announced.
Odom, who began his duties Monday, comes to Meridian from Oxford, where he served as media sales and events coordinator for The Oxford Eagle and Oxford Magazine, both owned by Carpenter Media Group. The Meridian Star and Meridian Life magazine were recently acquired by Carpenter Media Group.
Alexander said she is excited to introduce Odom to the Star and the Meridian community.
“Clements has a wealth of experience in sales and fully understands the evolving nature of community newspapers today. He is one of the top sales leaders in digital sales in the company and will be a great addition to The Meridian Star, Meridian Living magazine and the Meridian community,” Alexander said. “I am thrilled to have him share the success he has experienced here in Oxford with the Meridian community.”
Odom, whose roots run deep in Mississippi, is a native of Greenwood. A natural born storyteller, he discovered a passion for connecting the people, history and art that express the Mississippi Delta when he was younger. He went on to hone his storytelling gifts through theater at New York University and University of Mississippi, where he majored in communications.
After a nearly 20-year career in the hospitality industry, Odom transitioned to the field of media sales with his work with Oxford Magazine. Also actively involved in the Oxford community, he served on the steering committee of Leadership Lafayette, working to inspire new leaders in understanding Mississippi. He also is the co-founder of Oxford’s Sanctuary Arts Festival and developed the Cofield Reading Rooms at the Chancellors House Hotel in Oxford, both of which highlight the importance of artists in communities.
“Carpenter Media Group believes in local journalism and the critical role a local newspaper plays in keeping residents informed within a community,” Odom said. “A local newspaper is the heartbeat of community life.”
He said, “As with many industries, community newspapers are continuing to evolve to meet the changing patterns of how Americans consume the news. I look forward to the challenges of helping The Meridian Star navigate this changing communication and information landscape, while producing a newspaper that reflects the community, bolstering our Meridian Life magazine and other special publications, and growing our outstanding digital website to better serve our readers and advertising clients.”
He also will head up efforts to relocate The Meridian Star newspaper offices once a new owner for its longtime home on 22nd Avenue is realized.