Jonesboro Mayor selects new city communications director

Bill Campbell, a former newspaper reporter and editor, will become communications director for the city of Jonesboro on March 7, Mayor Harold Perrin announced Monday.

The appointment is subject to approval of a salary proposal, which will be submitted to the City Council through its Finance and Administration Committee on Tuesday (Feb. 23).

“Jonesboro has long been a city I’ve found charming, as I am a frequent visitor with family on three sides of town,” Campbell said. “The chance to use my media background, in a job that seems like I’ve been preparing to do for several years, feels absolutely perfect. I will help the mayor and all city leaders as they work to keep Jonesboro progressive and growing, and I will offer another set of ears to help understand what residents want and need.”

A native of Camden, Campbell most recently was information technology, business and entrepreneurial reporter and editor for the Tennessee Valley Publishing Co., which has newspapers in Florence and Decatur, Ala.

“We’re pleased to have someone as talented and experienced as Bill to join our staff, and we look forward to his work in improving communications between the citizens of Jonesboro and their city government,” Perrin said.

Campbell replaces Roy Ockert, retired editor of The Jonesboro Sun, who has filled in as interim communications director during the search for a permanent director. Almost 50 people applied for the position.

After obtaining a journalism degree from Louisiana Tech University, Campbell worked for the Dallas Morning News from 1997 to 2004 as a senior writer covering mostly sports. During that time he was also a regular analyst on a Fox Sports Southwest weekly television program and occasionally for ESPN. In 2004 he became a city editor of the News Star, a Gannett newspaper at Monroe, La.

He moved to Jackson, Miss., in 2009 as an assistant city editor for the Clarion-Ledger. He also was involved in developing and maintaining the newspaper’s Web site and social media. Because of his work at city hall and in the state Capitol, he received a “Lifetime Citizen of Jackson Award” from the City Council.

He was there for two and a half years before accepting a position as metro editor at Decatur.

His wife Ashwini is working on a master’s degree in occupational therapy. He has two sons —Stephen, 26, who is in the Army, and Jordan, 23, a set technician for a touring production company out of Los Angeles.

His sister, Barbara Bennett, and her husband Herbert retired in Jonesboro. Two nieces and their families also live here.