After more than six years in the New River Valley and half of those years as Editor of the New River Voice, it is odd to now call North Carolina home. At least it’s partially home. I still own the house where the “magic” of the New River Voice happened and where meetings were held and interns worked. (If you’re interested in buying it, it’s for sale!) But I’ve started a new job as Web Editor for The Laurel of Asheville, which means my time with the Voice will be quite limited.

Naturally I’ve received lots of questions about the future of the Voice and the truth is that I don’t know what the final result will be of this online publication’s next transition. What is known is that Bill Kovarik is stepping in as Interim Editor. Bill is a veteran journalist and historian who has worked with wire services, daily newspapers, and national news magazines. He currently is a professor in the Radford University School of Communication and he has also been Editor of The Appalachian Voice and served on the board of directors for the Society of Environmental Journalists.

Bill and I have discussed the Voice and its future and we agree on a few things.

• We want more student involvement. We both believe that the New River Voice can be a great training ground for young journalists and others who want experience in working for a publication.
• We want to continue to have the community involved. We have always loved having community members write columns and guest editorials and an array of other articles and that aspect will live on.
• We hope the publication can grow and be more inclusive and cover the entire New River Valley better. And that means we want more overall involvement, whether that be from students, professors, community members, nonprofit organizations and other community groups, or professional journalists.

We’ve had the slogan, “Your Voice for the Valley” for a while now, and we want that to continue. But it is important that you help keep the Voice—and therefore your voice—alive. Bill has lots of new ideas for this publication and he will be telling you about those soon. But in the meantime, he wants your feedback and involvement.

If you have story ideas or want to write a column or a blog or just want to somehow be involved in keeping free and independent journalism alive in the New River Valley, contact Bill now via e-mail: Bill@NewRiverVoice.com.

After years of pouring time, energy, and money into the New River Voice, I want to see this publication live on, and I hope you do, too. So please get involved if you can.

Tim W. Jackson is the founder of the New River Voice and was its Editor and Publisher for more than three years.