John Allan Clark of the Watchman Media Group has been appointed to the Alabama Press Association Board of Directors after being elected District 6 representative at the APA Winter Convention in Montgomery on Feb. 13.
Clark is publisher of the Greensboro Watchman, the Times-Standard-Herald, and the Western Star, serving readers across Central Alabama and the Black Belt.
Clark began working in newspapers in 2003 and founded the Perry County Herald in 2005. He became associate editor of the Greensboro Watchman in 2012 and later purchased the newspaper in 2018. In 2020, Clark re-established the Perry County Herald. In 2024, his company acquired the Marion Times-Standard and merged the two newspapers to form the Times-Standard-Herald. His company acquired the Western Star in Bessemer later that same year.
A native of Perry County, Clark said his focus in community journalism has been on covering local government, courts, and public records, and on maintaining strong print circulation in an era of rapid change for the newspaper industry.
He has been interviewed by or contributed coverage to national and international news outlets including the PBS NewsHour, CNN, The New York Times, Fox News, NPR, USA Today, Huffington Post, and Le Monde.
The newspapers in the Watchman Media Group have earned multiple statewide honors in recent years through the Alabama Media Awards program, including first place for Best Headline in 2023, second place for Best Public Service in 2023 and 2024, second place for the Freedom of Information/First Amendment Award in 2023 and 2024, and third place for Best Business Coverage in 2024.
The Alabama Press Association represents newspapers and media organizations across the state and provides advocacy, training, and professional development for its members.
