Publishers: Newspapers Withstood Storms - Yahoo! News

Hats off to all of the newspapers and other media outlets in the region. Without your getting the word out, volunteers would never know to come. You did a GREAT job!

Publishers: Newspapers Withstood Storms - Yahoo! News:

"Our readers have bonded to us as never before,' he said. 'They have showered us with compliments. In my 26 years as publisher, I've never seen it like this.'

People who never read their local newspaper before have become faithful daily readers since the hurricane, according to both Phelps and Ricky Mathews, president and publisher of The Sun Herald in Biloxi, Miss.

For Mathews, the experience of the past seven months and his paper's increased valued role in the community have made him more optimistic about the industry's future. But having an emergency plan is essential, he said — a newspaper without one is 'writing a formula for failure.'

Although most employees had their homes damaged or destroyed, The Sun Herald never missed an edition during the crisis."