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The Suffolk News-Herald and its affiliated publications have announced a new publisher, Betty Ramsey.

Ramsey, currently the publisher of Farmville Newsmedia, will retain that position while also becoming publisher of the Suffolk News-Herald and Tidewater News and their related products.

Current News-Herald publisher, John Carr, will transition to the Salisbury (N.C.) Post to become publisher there.

The move was announced to employees several weeks ago, and the transition has been ongoing since that time.

Ramsey started her career in newspapers at the Tidewater News in 2005 as the advertising director, and in 2009, she become general manager there. She was promoted the next year to the Tryon Daily Bulletin in Tryon, N.C., where she was president and publisher.

In 2017, she moved to Farmville, where she became publisher of products including the Farmville Herald.

“I started my career in newspapers at The Tidewater News in Franklin, and I’m excited about this opportunity to work with the very talented and successful staff that John Carr has led,” Ramsey stated. “I look forward to being a part of the community and working closely with local leaders, businesses and organizations.”

Carr said he had appreciated his time in the Virginia area.

“Suffolk is a special place, and those blessed to spend their lives here are lucky indeed,” Carr stated. “In our five years in Suffolk, I have been able to work with and befriend some of the best people anyone could ever hope to know. Leaving is not easy, but I am looking forward to a new challenge.

“I am more than pleased that Betty Ramsey, who will be the group publisher for Suffolk, as well as Tidewater and Farmville, will be taking over. I have gotten to know Betty over the years, and Suffolk could not be in better hands. Betty has deep roots in the area as well as an impressive publishing track record.”

Carr said the companies, collectively under the umbrella of Alabama-based Boone Newspapers Inc., have done well and achieved much while serving their respective communities.

“I am already looking back at all Suffolk and our nearby sister operation in Franklin have done in recent years,” he said. “We launched the Windsor Weekly in 2015, and it continues to operate successfully and serve the growing Windsor community. We launched Western Branch Magazine a couple of years later. In 2019, we launched the Yorktown Independent to bring community journalism to that historic and growing community. Soon after, (Boone Newspapers) acquired the Smithfield Times, again adding to our commitment to the tradition of community news and journalism.

“Along the way, we have moved into many digital marketing services as well. This is an exciting time for us, as small community organizations like ours can provide the best local coverage while giving business marketing platforms and technology they didn’t think they could access only a few years ago.”