Veteran Executive Joe B. Stinson Tells How He Got Started with THE OBSERVER
For more than two decades, Joe B. Stinson served as the assistant to the publisher at The OBSERVER Newspapers. He originally came to The OBSERVER in 1966 where he got involved in circulation and sales.
A graduate of Tennessee State University, with a bachelor’s in aviation education and industrial arts, the newspaper business seemed to be an unusual place for a man with his background in which to get involved.
“I’ve always liked sales and people,” the personable Stinson relates.
“I was in private industry sales and met [OBSERVER founding publisher Dr. William H. Lee] when I contacted him on a business matter,” Stinson says.
The two men developed a mutual admiration, and that was the beginning of a business relationship and friendship that lasted more than 50 years until Dr. Lee’s passing in 2019.
Stinson took a leave of absence from the paper from 1967 through 1969. During that time he taught auto mechanics at Hiram Johnson High School. He was the first Black certified teacher to instruct full time at the school.
Stinson returned to The OBSERVER in 1970.
However, he left the paper briefly in 1972. Stinson was selected to participate in the U.S. Marines’ new experimental recruiting program. A Marine reservist, Stinson was chosen with 85 other military personnel to lead recruitment efforts in their respective hometowns. He was involved in the program for three years, after which he again returned to The OBSERVER.
Stinson was born in Ripley, Tennessee. In high school he was active in the New Farmers of America (which is similar to the Future Farmers of America). He was state secretary and local president of the club. In high school he was also elected the class president in his junior and senior years. He retired from the Marines at the rank of sergeant major.
Stinson says he fell in love with the newspaper industry.
“It’s a fascinating career because of its versatilities. You are able to create ideas and put them in print. I like to help people and newspapers are a vehicle to provide people with information that will be a help to them. It’s like having a key to the world,” he relates.
Stinson says the Black Press is needed as much or more today than when it started in 1827. Although there are TV, radio, magazines and the internet, the Black Press is needed to offset the mainstream media’s deficiencies in reporting minority happenings, he adds.
“The other media just highlights super Blacks and not average citizens,” Stinson says. “The press only reports on the extreme positive and negative sides of Black life. The Black Press serves as a medium that highlights all areas of the lifestyle of Black citizens and the injustices that still exist in this society.”
The number one problem of Black newspapers, Stinson feels, is the lack of advertising support from retail producers.
“There are billions of dollars spent each year in advertising but the percentage of ad dollars going to Black newspapers is very low compared to the ratio of Black consumers in today’s marketplace,” he said.
“The auto industry, clothing, furniture and beverage companies make a lot of money from Black consumers. But little of it is returned to the Black community through advertising in Black community newspapers,” Stinson observes.
Stinson leads a quiet life in Sacramento with his family, which includes his wife, Marlene, to whom he has been married more than 60 years.
