‘Served...with grace and distinction.’ Ledger-Enquirer business leader Rodney Mahone retiring
Start with an entry-level-to-executive success story, add some racial-barrier breaking, and finish with a homecoming, and you have the grand arc of Rodney Mahone’s remarkable career.
The final point in the Ledger-Enquirer leader’s timeline came Wednesday.
McClatchy, the L-E’s owner, announced Mahone will depart the national media company on Sept. 30.
“It’s time to take a break after almost 32 years. Both of our kids are now in college, and my wife and I would like to spend more time with each other and our parents that are in town as well,” said Mahone, the Georgia market president and corporate vice president of in-market sales across McClatchy’s 30 markets.
Mahone, 54, started his 32-year career at his hometown newspaper right out of college as a supervisor in the circulation department. He quickly moved up the corporate ladder, becoming the L-E’s vice president for advertising and, in 2010, the first African-American president and publisher in the newspaper’s history, which was 182 years at the time.
Recognizing his talent and work ethic, McClatchy gave him more responsibility, making him the leader of the Macon Telegraph as well.
In 2018, Mahone was promoted again, to regional president and publisher at the Charlotte Observer — the first African-American person in that position as well — and overseeing other McClatchy media outlets in the Carolinas.
He kept his home in Columbus and returned to work here in June 2020.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the talented and dedicated colleagues I have worked alongside all these years,” Mahone said. “Navigating through the disruption of our industry has not been easy work, but we have stayed committed to delivering on our promise of providing essential news and information to the communities we serve. I am so proud and honored to have had an opportunity to play a small part in that legacy.”
In an email Wednesday to the leadership team, McClatchy Senior Vice President of Advertising Tony Berg said, “While he has served our company with grace and distinction, Rodney also has dedicated both his time and his talent to the citizens of his hometown of Columbus, Georgia, serving as a director on several civic boards. From civil rights to education, Rodney has focused his efforts on bettering the community that he, his wife Deirdre and children Brandon and Brittany are proud to call home.”
Berg thanked Mahone for “a lot of early mornings and late nights” working for the company.
“The influence of Rodney’s character, work ethic and commitment can be felt throughout McClatchy,” Berg said, “and we as a company are all the better because of it.”
Mahone’s influence also benefited the Chattahoochee Valley.
He was instrumental in the launch of Together Columbus, an innovative two-year public-private partnership that resulted in a $344,000 investment in the community. As a result, the Ledger-Enquirer was recognized by Editor & Publisher magazine as one of the 10 newspapers in the United States that “Do It Right.”
Mahone is a 2012 alumnus of Leadership Georgia. He has served as board chairman for the United Way of the Chattahoochee Valley, including the 2012 campaign, and New Birth Outreach Church. He has served on the board of directors for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Columbus, the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee Valley and Columbus Technical College Foundation.
“The Community Foundation has benefited from Rodney’s wisdom and passion for our community, during both his time at the Ledger and his service on our board,” Betsy Covington, the foundation’s president and CEO, told the L-E in an email. “He’s truly seen the front lines of the issues affecting local news, and we’re grateful for the work he’s been doing to keep McClatchy strong. He’s a huge asset for our community, and I can’t wait to see what he’ll dive into next.”
Marquette McKnight, president of Media, Marketing and More and executive director of the Muscogee Educational Excellence Foundation, worked with Mahone through the foundation, Together Columbus and the L-E’s Page One Awards.
“I’m incredibly sad that we’re losing his leadership at our flagship newspaper,” McKnight told the L-E. “He was an old-fashioned publisher in that he was involved in so many things for good. He took the mantle of leadership at the Ledger very seriously.”
And he adapted well to the modern world of digital media, McKnight said.
“His steering of not only the Ledger but every other responsibility and job that McClatchy gave him the opportunity to do, I was on more than one occasion awed by the break-neck speed of change that was happening,” she said. “… He never seemed flustered. He never seemed like it wasn’t something that he was going to learn how to do and be flexible.”
McKnight expects Mahone to stay involved in the community.
“I mean, my mind is already awhirl with where else can we use him in a position of leadership,” she said, “because he’s got too much talent not to use and he’s still so young.”
Asked what he plans to do in retirement, Mahone wasn’t specific, but he made it clear he has more to offer.
“The opportunities that the news publishing industry has afforded me have been beyond my wildest dreams, and I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished along the way,” he said. “The same energy and enthusiasm that helped me land that first job are now forged with hard-won experience in revenue growth, expense management, team building and problem solving — and these tires have a lot of tread left on them.”
McClatchy has not yet announced a plan to fill Mahone’s position.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 10:41 AM with the headline "‘Served...with grace and distinction.’ Ledger-Enquirer business leader Rodney Mahone retiring."
