Published: February 10, 2007 11:12 pm      

Star names new managing editor

from staff reports

Executive Editor Fredie Carmichael announced this week that Steve Gillespie has been promoted to managing editor of The Meridian Star.

Gillespie, 43, joined The Star as a staff writer in April 2001. He was named assistant editor in May 2005.

“We are excited to have Steve in this important role in our newsroom,” Carmichael said. “Steve knows the community and this newspaper. His enthusiasm and positive attitude serves our newsroom well.

“As an extremely talented journalist, I’m confident he will effectively manage our news coverage — both in print and online.”

Gillespie replaces Suzanne Monk, who resigned last week to pursue other interests.

Before joining The Star, Gillespie served as editor of The Daily Dunklin Democrat in Kennett, Mo., where he worked since 1994. Prior to that he served as editor and managing editor of several weekly newspapers in Mississippi, The News-Commercial in Collins, The Deer Creek Pilot in Rolling Fork, The Sunflower Progress in Drew and his hometown newspaper, The Osceola Times, in Osceola, Ark.

He has received awards from the Arkansas and Mississippi Press Associations for coverage of industry, in-depth reporting, feature writing, news reporting and general interest columns. He was also responsible for many design and local news coverage awards The Democrat received from the Missouri Press Association.

Gillespie moved to Meridian after he and his wife, Meridian native Leigh Ziller Gillespie, married in Memphis, Tenn., in January 2001. He has five stepchildren, Allyn, Brynn, Laney, Devyn and Gray Chesney.

He is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Mediator and is president of the Meridian Civitan Club.

Gillespie, who has worked exclusively in newspapers since 1989, also worked in radio as an announcer and program director for six years while writing a weekly newspaper column for The Citizen Journal in Arkansas.

He attended Arkansas State University, where he majored in radio/tv and fine arts with an emphasis in graphic design.

Gillespie said The Star has a great news staff with excellent potential.

“This is an exciting time for The Meridian Star and I appreciate the opportunity to play a major role in some important changes we’re experiencing,” Gillespie said. “Newspapers are a lot different than they were when I first started working in the business. Under our current leadership we are not only embracing new ideas, techniques and technology, we’re determined to be a leader in those areas.

“Examples of that include our extended Web site coverage at www.meridianstar.com, and some of our design changes we’ve made over the

last six months since Fredie Carmichael returned to The Star as our new editor.”

Gillespie was voted Best Newspaper Reporter in 2002 and 2006 through The Star’s Reader’s Choice awards and he was named The Meridian Star’s Employee of the Year in 2004.