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Hello to my new neighbors, and hopefully, new friends.

My name is Shane Dunaway, and while I’m new to the Selma experience, I’m eager to embrace this new adventure.

It has been a journey to get to this stage of my career. From 2005-2012, I spent half of my 15 years in journalism serving as a public affairs specialist in the U.S. Air Force. That opportunity provided me a chance to hone my skills in storytelling as I traveled from North Carolina to Guam, then back stateside in Arizona.

I’d like to think the Air Force core values – “Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence in All We Do” – encompass my approach to reporting and my desire to demonstrate exceptional ethics when it comes to accuracy. That doesn’t mean I’ll never make a mistake, but if I do, I’ll work with you to make it right.

The latter half of my career brought me back home to Alabama, where I worked at The Daily Home in Talladega. My time there showed me the importance of community journalism, whether I was covering the various education, crime and government news in Talladega County or writing about a mix of high school sports, college sports and NASCAR.

My focus while at The Selma Times-Journal will be to showcase what makes Selma special. I’m sure I’ll learn plenty along the way about the richness of this city’s history and culture while also highlighting its progress forward in an ever-changing world.

We all have opinions and are passionate about the causes we choose to support. In the interest of transparency, I consider myself to be more liberal-minded, but I don’t let those views cloud my objectivity. The goal is to provide fair and balanced coverage, and the only time you’ll see my opinion is in either a column on the Opinion page or a sports-related column.

While we live in polarizing times when it comes to the perception of journalism and the media in our country, I hope my interaction with you all establishes a rapport and builds upon the trust you have in your local newspaper.

I am eager to see what stories are out there to be told, and I look forward to seeing what the community here can accomplish. I encourage readers with a newsworthy story to tell to contact me via phone at 334-410-1736 or email at shane.dunaway@selmatimesjournal.com.

Show me how bright this city can shine.