Co-presidents provide vision for next 100 years

The Southeast Missourian has turned 100 year old, but will it be around to celebrate No. 200? While we know what the past 100 years has held, predicting the future is far more difficult.

Jon K. Rust, the newspaper's publisher and co-president of Rust Communications, is confident that the Southeast Missourian will be around to reach its bicentennial while sticking with the core principles the newspaper follows today.

"I think it will look quite a bit different, but we are building this company to be here in another 100 years, yes," he said. "Give credit to the Naeter brothers. When they constructed a mural on the side of this building in 1947, they titled it 'Gathering and disseminating news.' They didn't title it 'The newspaper business.' Our goal is to deliver trusted news and information to help people who live here live better."

Rust Communications co-president Rex Rust echoed his brothers' sentiments.

"We will do what is necessary to keep the Southeast Missourian a strong public service vehicle for the next 100 years and beyond," he said.

The Rusts have a clear vision of the immediate future for the Southeast Missourian.

"We're always trying to better position ourselves to serve the needs of our readers, advertisers and employees," Rex Rust said.

The immediate future includes extensive renovation to the inside of the 80-year-old Southeast Missourian building at 301 Broadway as well as working to have the building listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

"This building is a strong historical symbol in this community, and we want to protect it," Rex Rust said.

"We look at our main building as a community jewel, and it needs more than just a little polish," Jon Rust said. "When the building was built, computers weren't envisioned. Now, virtually everything we do is digital."

The renovation plans include redesigning the space inside the building to optimize work flow, updating technical infrastructure such as computer wiring, electrical systems, wireless networking and upgrading the air conditioning.

Work will get underway the first quarter of 2005 with completion expected in November 2005.

While readers will not be directly affected by the remodeling, they will be affected by greater investment in the newspaper's computer networks and Internet capabilities.

"We know we're going to see more convergence of media," Jon Rust said. "The Internet will continue to grow in importance."

The Southeast Missourian has been available online since 1997, and the Web site has undergone significant changes since then, including the addition of online audio and video clips.

"It's a matter of embracing the technology as it comes along," Rex Rust said. "I think we have a strong Web site. The good thing about being online is that it has brought us a broader audience."

"It also gives that audience an immediacy in news coverage that isn't possible in print, which is on a 24-hour news cycle," Jon Rust said. "Our Web site, semissourian.com, has broken most of the major news stories in this area during the past few years -- before radio, before TV.

"What some people also don't realize is that newspaper content represents only a tiny fraction of what's on our Web site."

The future also promises to bring growth to Rust Communications, the parent company of the Southeast Missourian.

"We don't want to grow for purely financial reasons," Rex Rust said. "We want to expand into other markets to establish the same local relationships and public service attitudes between our publishers and their communities."

Currently, Rust Communications has full or part ownership in 19 daily newspapers, more than 30 weeklies and 17 radio stations in eight different states.

Although Jon and Rex Rust foresee changes in the newspaper's future, there are certain elements they would like to see remain the same.

"We want to be nimble and opportunistic in changing with technology. But our core values, those will stay the same," Rex Rust said.

Those values include the newspaper's commitment to the community, Jon Rust said.

"We are a company -- and an ownership -- that believes strongly in giving back. For one reason, we believe it's our Christian charge."

This is why the newspaper has sponsored military bands and Russian ballets, community basketball tournaments, literacy campaigns, toys for children and support for the elderly, he said. The newspaper also has provided hundred of thousands of dollars in free advertising to the United Way and other not-for-profit organizations. It has donated more than $1 million to the university, local schools and the United Way.

"We also know that our newspaper's success is directly tied to the success of this area," Jon Rust said. "The more Cape Girardeau, Jackson, Scott City and the surrounding area prosper, the better it is for our business."

He said there's another reason the newspaper gives back. "We believe there is a civic responsibility of publishing newspapers that starts with good journalism. We believe that informed discourse -- and honest discourse -- make for a more vibrant and productive community."

Both men see the future of the Southeast Missourian as one based on the legacy left by the Naeter family and espoused by their father, Gary Rust, a legacy centered on values.

"When I think of the Naeter brothers and my father, among their highest legacies are their passion, their sense of editorial service, integrity, technological vision and support for civic progress," Jon Rust said. "A hundred years from now, I hope the same will be said about the Rust brothers and the great group of people working at the newspaper today."