4 | SEPTEMBER 2025
EDITOR'S NOTE
Reflecting on 40 years
as a journalist
EDITOR'S
NOTE
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Collin Kelley
Being a
journalist these
days has never
been more
difficult, especially
when you’ve got
half of the U.S.
electorate who
believes everything
produced by
mainstream media
is “fake news.”
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Growing up, I never wanted to be
anything but a reporter. Some kids wanted
to be astronauts, firefighters, doctors, or
lawyers, but I was inspired by my distant
relative Margaret Mitchell (so distant I’ll
never see any of that “Gone With the
Wind” money), who began her career as
a reporter for the Atlanta Journal Sunday
Magazine.
I started writing a column for the
Fayette Sun newspaper in 1985 called “The
Wonderful World of Libraries” (yes, I am
that nerd), covering happenings and news
from all of the county’s local homes for
tomes.
Then, in 1986, like Cousin Peggy
before me, my first piece of journalism
appeared in the AJC’s long-defunct Sunday
Magazine. Eliptically, it was the first
article ever written about efforts to restore
Mitchell’s Midtown apartment into a
museum. I was 16.
More freelancing followed for a variety
of Georgia magazines before my editor
at the Fayette Sun offered to give me a
regular beat if I could attend a Fayette
County Planning and Zoning meeting and
write something coherent. A trial by fire,
so to speak.
I distinctly remember sitting at
the county courthouse in Fayetteville,
completely flummoxed by the proceedings
and the incomprehensible zoning codes on
the agenda. I looked up and my doctor,
friend, and mentor, Ferroll Sams, was
standing beside me. “What the hell are you
doing here, boy?”
He told me to shift over and sat with
me, explaining the agenda items. The next
morning, when I submitted the story, my
editor eyeballed me suspiciously, but I got
the job. I spent the next couple of years
covering the tiny town of Tyrone, GA.
Hey, you gotta start somewhere.
From there, I went on to be an
assistant editor at a business magazine,
then as a reporter/entertainment writer for
the Marietta Daily Journal and Neighbor
Newspapers. I would remain there for 13
years, working my way up to executive
editor of the South Metro Bureau. I hated
being the boss, hated not being able to
write, hated driving back and forth from
Forest Park to Marietta almost daily for
some meeting.
Luckily, a former colleague at the
MDJ, Joe Hiett, called and wanted to
meet for lunch. He had just been named
publisher by the late Tom Cousins, who
had taken over ownership from founder
Chris Schroeder. Joe offered me the job as
editor of Atlanta Intown on the spot. That
was 23 years ago.
Even with all the insanity happening in
the world, I still want to be a journalist. I
have my “other life” as a poet and novelist,
but being a reporter is still my bread and
butter.
As Rough Draft Publisher Keith
Pepper mentions in his new “A Pinch of
Pepper” newsletter (roughdraftatlanta.
substack.com), print journalism is making
something of a comeback. The U.S.
version of The Spectator, US Magazine,
Ebony, and Sports Illustrated are either
expanding or resurrecting their print
publications. Remember when vinyl
disappeared and print books were passe
thanks to eBooks? You just can’t beat
the tactile feel of holding media in your
hands.
I plan to keep living my dream as
a reporter — both in print and online.
Thanks for coming along for the ride.
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PEGGY HIBBERT
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Your Neighborhood Expert with Global Connections
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