Herald publisher taking new post with the City
By Al Beeber - Lethbridge Herald on May 26, 2022.
LETHBRIDGE HERALDabeeber@lethbridgeherald.com Brian Hancock saw the Lethbridge Herald endure dark times when the COVID-19 pandemic hit advertising revenues two years ago.Now the paper’s publisher is seeing the newspaper emerge from those gloomy times into a brighter future as he says goodbye.
Hancock, who spent a total of 28 years at the paper during two stints here, has accepted a position at the City of Lethbridge.
He saw a job posting, was interested in it and decided to apply.
“We do have a lot of interaction with the city and other levels of government in our role here. I saw a posting for a job there and thought it was very intriguing and threw my name in out of interest to see what it was all about.
“Over the last few years, I’ve become more politically aware of things that are going on in the community and it’s always been of great interest to me. And when the opportunity came up, I decided to have a look at it and see where it might go,” the publisher said.
Hancock came to The Herald from a golf store he owned called Golf Plus. He did the layout for his own Herald ads and his sales representative here, Bruce Friesen, suggested since he was doing his work, he come to the Herald to actually work.
He was hired by Ryan McAdams, now group publisher for Alberta Newspaper Group LP.
“I know I’m leaving the paper in a good place. We’ve done what we’ve needed to do to get through the worst of times like so many businesses around us and there are brighter days ahead. We’ve done everything we’ve had to do. It’ll only get better,” said the departing publisher.
During the pandemic, The Herald still had strong support from the community, Hancock said.
Advertisers are a lifeline for the paper but during the pandemic, businesses were struggling to stay afloat, he said.
“When they face challenges, we face the challenges times a hundred. We felt their pain with them and rode along with them. We launched the community grants programs to try to help them. We’ve done everything we can to remain a strong partner with businesses of Lethbridge,” said the publisher.
The community grants program was very well-received by businesses, with many taking advantage of it, Hancock said.
“I feel there’s been some great leadership from above and they’ve given me the opportunity to do things we needed to do on a local basis and make sure we stay viable. And we got through it with brighter days ahead.”
On a personal level, Hancock said he’s worked alongside many great people at the paper over the years.
“When I left, I thought ‘OK, on you go’ but once you get ink in your blood you can’t get it out. And when the opportunity to return to The Herald came, it was perfect timing and the perfect situation. I genuinely missed the newspaper. It’s always going to be the leader in everything going on in this community. Nothing beats the experience of sitting down with a newspaper in your hand – you smell it, you feel it, you relax with it and you get informed. Once it’s in your blood, you can’t get it out. I will forever be reading the Lethbridge Herald,” said Hancock.
“I know I’m leaving the paper in a good place. We’ve done what we’ve needed to do to get through the worst of times like so many businesses around us and there are brighter days ahead. We’ve done everything we’ve had to do. It can’t get worse than what we’ve gone through the last couple of years. It’ll only get better.” Follow @albeebHerald on Twitter 4
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