BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Barnett Wright, executive editor of The Birmingham Times, will leave his post Feb. 27 after roughly a decade in the role, closing out a period in which the weekly Black newspaper modernized its operations while maintaining its civil-rights-era mission.
Under Wright’s leadership, The Birmingham Times expanded digital coverage, deepened community features and continued to spotlight Black political, business and cultural life in Birmingham and beyond. Publisher Samuel P. Martin called Wright’s departure the end of “a remarkable chapter,” pointing to awards, partnerships and mentoring of young journalists in a recent column announcing the move. Wright, who joined the paper’s leadership when its ownership changed a decade ago, helped guide the organization as it restructured under Birmingham Times Media Group, a for-profit arm of a nonprofit foundation.
The Birmingham Times was founded in 1963–64 by Dr. Jesse J. Lewis Sr., a Black businessman and political strategist who became Alabama’s first Black cabinet member and built a reputation as a savvy, often business-aligned operative. Lewis launched the paper to give Black Birmingham a voice during the civil rights movement, at times battling printers who resisted its anti-segregation stance. Over the decades, Lewis’s work in politics and consulting has included advising candidates across party lines, including Republicans, making The Birmingham Times’ origins notable in a city where Black Republican figures have been rare. While the contemporary newsroom is not formally aligned with any party, its coverage has emphasized representation, voting rights, economic development and cultural life in Birmingham’s Black neighborhoods.
Lewis sold The Birmingham Times to a nonprofit, the Foundation for Progress in Journalism, in a deal announced in 2016; the Birmingham Times Media Group operates as a for-profit subsidiary of that foundation. The foundation was created in Lewis’s honor to promote journalism opportunities for minority students and to use the paper as a training ground for emerging reporters and editors. There is no public record that Alabama Power owns The Birmingham Times; current descriptions of the paper’s ownership point solely to the foundation and its media subsidiary. Alabama Power does appear among the paper’s listed distribution sites, with company offices in downtown Birmingham carrying copies of the paper as a pickup location.
The Birmingham Times continues to publish as a weekly print newspaper serving Birmingham and Jefferson County, even as other Alabama outlets — including the state’s three largest dailies — have ended regular print editions in favor of digital-only models. Distribution lists for The Birmingham Times show racks in city buildings, libraries, campuses, grocery stores, small businesses and corporate offices, reflecting a strategy aimed at remaining visible in neighborhood and civic spaces. Wright’s departure comes as Alabama’s media ecosystem is still adjusting to those broader changes in print and digital news, leaving questions about how the Times will balance its legacy print presence with online growth under future leadership.