In 1922, Vinton Birney Imes had some ambitious plans but, he confessed, no clear timetable to achieve them.
He was just 33 years old, but already a 12-year veteran of the newspaper business. In 1921, he left his position with The Columbus Dispatch to purchase The Columbus Commercial.
A year later, backed by the financing of a local judge, Imes purchased his old newspaper, The Columbus Dispatch from the Maer family.
Newspapers had operated in Columbus as far back as 1833, coming and going, merging and changing names.
At the end of what had been almost a century of chaos in the newspaper business in Columbus, entered a semblance of order when, on March 12, 1922, the first edition of the consolidated newspapers rolled off the press under the banner The Commercial Dispatch, with Birney Imes as its editor and publisher.
Saturday marked the 100th anniversary of what is now known as The Commercial Dispatch. It is the second “birthday” the paper recognizes along with the 1879 founding of The Columbus Dispatch, the earliest forerunner of today’s newspaper.
Beginning with Birney Imes, the newspaper has been edited and published by four generations of the Imes family, including the current editor/publisher, Peter Imes, who took over the role in 2018. It is now the only family-owned daily newspaper in the state.
Birney Imes’ vision
The consolidated newspaper would publish twice a week — on Sundays and Wednesdays, the story noted in its first edition.
Lest there were any notions that he was content with that, in the same edition Imes stated plainly his ambitions.
“It is the hope and ambition of the owners of The Commercial Dispatch to give Columbus a daily newspaper at some time in the future,” he wrote. “Plans for the future have not matured. In fact, there has been no time to think of plans in the short time since the present owners took over the property Wednesday.”
That ambition was fulfilled probably sooner than anyone could have imagined.
On April 4, 1926, four years after The Commercial Dispatch published its first edition, the newspaper went daily.
“One of the things I noticed as I flipped between 1922 and 1926 editions is that it was obvious they were a lot more commercially successful by 1926,” Peter Imes said. “There were ads, big ads all through the paper. The paper was encouraging economic development and civic engagement. It was much more dynamic than it was in ‘22.”
Birney Imes’ interest in building the Columbus community was not that of just an observer or even an advocate.
For 25 years as editor/publisher of the city’s only newspaper, he was also personally involved in almost every aspect of the city’s growth, serving on countless boards, working to secure first an Army Air Base and then Columbus Air Force Base, as founder and president of the Columbus Rotary Club, president of the Chamber of Commerce, a director of the First Columbus National Bank and member of Mississippi’s first Public Works Administration board of directors.
When, on June 18, 1947, Birney Imes died of a massive heart attack at age 48, it sent shockwaves through the community.
His only child, Birney Imes Jr. took over as editor and publisher at age 33, the same age as his father when he published the first edition of The Commercial Dispatch.
Birney Imes Jr. would go on to serve as editor and publisher for 51 years.
Much as his namesake, Birney Imes Jr. turned out to be a dynamic force and a savvy businessman with varied investments outside the newspaper, including Columbus’ first TV station, WCBI, a string of radio stations in north Mississippi and interests in timber, charcoal, banking and other television stations.
“I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with three generations of the Imes family,’’ said Jim Boone, chairman of Boone Newspapers, whose father, Buford Boone, became publisher of the Tuscaloosa News the same year Birney Imes Jr. became publisher of the Commercial Dispatch.
“Birney Jr. was of my father’s generation, and there was great mutual respect between them,” said Boone, 86. “When I came back from Virginia to be publisher in Tuscaloosa, my father gave me the names of 10 people in the newspaper business that I didn’t know, but should make a point to get to know. Birney Jr. was one of the names on that list.
“My father considered Birney to stand tall as an editor, publisher, broadcaster, banker and as a citizen was a forward-thinking leader,” he continued. “They were friends, and they kept one another in newsprint when it was hard to get. He encouraged me to get to know Birney, and I did. I’m proud to have been associated with three generations of the Imes family.”
A week shy of his 89th birthday, Birney Imes Jr. died after a lengthy illness on March 12, 2003 — the 81st anniversary of the first edition of The Commercial Dispatch.
Generations 3 and 4
If Birney Imes and Birney Imes Jr. seemed to be of like minds, times, circumstances and philosophies mark a distinct delineation between the first two generations of Imes publishers and their third and fourth generations.
Both Birney Imes III, publisher from 1998 until 2018, and Peter Imes had different career tracks in mind — Birney III would become a world-renowned photographer while Peter followed the path of tech and real estate.
“I was always involved with the paper and loved it,” said Birney Imes III. “When the paper first started, they ran an ad looking for a boy with a pony to deliver papers.”
Birney Imes III didn’t have a pony, but he did have a paper route.
“We were called Little Merchants, and I had a route with 11 customers when I was six years old,” he recalled.
Birney Imes IIl later worked as a staff photographer for the paper before marrying and leaving Columbus to pursue his career in photography.
“I left in the 1970s and it was never my plan to come back and be publisher,” he said. “My father’s health started to sink in the early ‘90s, and my brother, Frank, was running the family business at the time. He asked me if I wanted to come back, which I did, mainly working in the newsroom. That was in 1996.”
Birney Imes III took over as editor and publisher two years later, inheriting the position at a time that seems far removed from that of his grandfather, a time when newspapers were virtually the only source of news on daily events of not only Columbus but the nation and world.
“I think a very good visual of that era was one of the photographs we have in the files,” he said. “It’s on election day and the streets are filled with people who came down to see the results on the big chalkboard in front of the newspaper office. The election results were written down as the results came in. People would watch as the number went up, but it seemed like it was more than that. It was a social event and you enjoyed being in the street with your townspeople. There was much more community involvement.”
The emergence of radio, television and digital media has changed that relationship to a degree.
While today’s readers get their news from a diversity of sources, one thing that hasn’t changed is the importance of maintaining the bonds that exist between a newspaper and the community it serves.
“I think anybody in journalism has got to be able to relate to a range of people,” Birney Imes III said. “The community feels a larger degree of ownership for their newspaper than other businesses.”
Every generation of publishers have their own challenges and opportunities.
That was true for Peter Imes, too, who returned to rebuild the newspaper’s website in 2008 and never left.
“I remember going to a newspaper conference pretty soon after I came to work at the paper,” Peter Imes said. “The speaker told a room of newspaper leaders that they would all be out of work within three years. Certainly, there’s a constant push for innovation, almost a scramble for it now.”
Perspective
The 100th anniversary of The Commercial Dispatch celebrates far more than four generations of a family business, Peter Imes said.
“When I pause to consider the history of the company I always think of the thousands and thousands of people who have worked here or delivered papers for us,” he said. “For most of the ones I’ve talked to, it was — in one way or another — a notable period of their life. People who have clocked in at The Dispatch have gone on to be entrepreneurs, university presidents, mayors, teachers, police officers. It’s always pretty cool to hear how the paper impacted their lives.”
One of those people was Allegra Brigham, who began working part-time while a student at Mississippi University for Women in 1967, helping Society Editor Dot Clark compile information for her section. Brigham “bounced back and forth” between The W and The Dispatch for close to 20 years, including four years as managing editor in the early 1980s. Brigham eventually became CEO and general manager of 4-County Electric Power and, later, The W’s interim president.
“The thing I remember so much about that period of time was we were a lot of young up-and-coming people who loved what we did and worked so hard,” Brigham said. “They came into work when they didn’t have to and went the extra mile and won a lot of awards for their work. Those were exciting years and a period of growth for all of us.”
That commitment to excellence hasn’t changed. The paper’s newsroom won the top award in the state last year; its advertising department has won the top award the past two years in a row.
“Our building is filled with incredibly committed people who aren’t just here for a paycheck. They believe in what we do, and I never hear the words ‘that’s not my job,’” Peter Imes said. “I’m lucky to work with them.”
The philosophy that guided the first two generations of the Imes publishers has changed, too, Peter Imes said.
The first two generations were very much a part of the establishment, working inside out. Under Birney Imes III and now Peter Imes, there has been a shift in that view.
“I don’t think my great-grandfather and grandfather were unique in the way they approached their roles,” Peter Imes said. “Newspapermen evolved in the way they participate in the community. Now we try to be more of an outside voice that provides factual news and insight.”
That has also meant acknowledging where the paper has erred in its earlier days.
“I’m well aware this paper has taken positions in the past — especially with regards to race — that were harmful to say the least,” Peter Imes said. “For at least the past 30 years, we have worked to make this a much more inclusive paper.”
The next 100 years
Birney Imes kicked off the first 100 years of The Commercial Dispatch. Peter Imes is on the clock for the second 100 years.
The idea seems as hard to grasp for Peter as it would have been to his great-grandfather.
“Oh, boy. I hadn’t thought of that,” he said with a chuckle. “Whether it’s The Dispatch or some other source, I just hope there’s a third party to hold government accountable and report and interpret the news. But I do think there will be a Dispatch in 100 years. I just don’t know what it will look like.”
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
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You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 34 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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