By William Smothers’ rough calculations, he’s overseen the publication of more than 2400 issues of Speakin’ Out News, the weekly newspaper he started over 46 years ago. Still, he hasn’t grown tired of the routine of putting out a newspaper week after week. The work is still exciting, still a challenge for him.

​Smothers said, “Every day I wake up with enthusiasm to come to work. It hasn’t gotten dim at all over the years,” said 76-year-old Smothers, about an hour before the Smothers copy and ad deadline for this week’s edition.

​Smothers has experienced dramatic changes in his own publication and the industry as a whole. He first launched a general interest monthly magazine, Speakin’ Out Magazine, in September 1980. He switched to a bimonthly, then weekly, newspaper called Speakin’ Out News, geared to African Americans.

He saw the paper’s layout go fully computerized, with the printer in Pulaski, TN, downloading pages from the newspaper’s Website. And Smothers, the founder, sole owner, editor, and publisher, has moved his publication from the kitchen table of his home in Decatur to an office in that city, to a building on Meridian Street in Huntsville, to Wholesale Avenue, and now to its permanent location in Huntsville on Sparkman Drive.

​Smothers launched his publication with only $800, with a burning vision: “Just enough to get the first issue printing”, he said. There were no payroll costs, though. “I was the writer, the photographer, the layout person,” he said. Smothers at first kept his job as a special education teacher with the Morgan County school system. During his breaks, he was on the telephone, calling advertisers or setting up interviews. He stopped on the way to his office to sell ads or conduct an interview. Then he checked his mail and caught up on other work before heading home to do lesson plans for his classes the next day. “I wanted to fill a void in the African American community because, at that time, there was an absence of people of color being covered except for entertainment or sports nature,” Smothers said. Smothers didn’t fret about his chaotic schedule. “You don’t worry about the hours, you worry about attaining your goals,” he said.

The most difficult part of getting started was selling ads, Smothers said. “I would work an entire shopping center, an entire mall to sell ads. “It teaches you how to deal with people, how to communicate with people.”

​Establishing his publication cut into time he could spend with his family. At the time, Smothers and his former wife, educator and Jackson native Emma Brown-White, had two young daughters, ages 7 and 2. “I wasn’t able to contribute quality time to them, but I was trying to build something for the future,” he said. Smothers finally had to choose whether to continue in the education field and work with his publication part-time or make his publishing a full-time effort. “To grow at all, you have to be totally committed,” he said.

​When Smothers handed in his resignation in 1985, the Morgan County school superintendent at the time told Smothers he could return whenever he liked. Now Smothers, whose newspaper has grown from a circulation of 1,000 to a weekly circulation today of 28,956, has evolved into a news organization that offers a print edition, an online edition, email marketing, website advertisement, and videos. Speakin’ Out News is the only printed newspaper in the city of Huntsville and a second-class periodical publication. SON has a staff of ten that share the responsibility of publishing a quality product every week.

​He is the father of four beautiful daughters. His oldest daughter, Jemeana Smothers-Roberson, is the associate publisher and oversees the graphics and website areas; his second daughter, Knegleshia Smothers-Cobb, serves as the chief financial officer; Dr. Terra Smothers-Carter is a staff writer/editor; and his youngest daughter, Canderiah Smothers, manages the daily operations at Speakin’ Out News’ office. He is married to Dr. Deloris Rice Smothers, a retired Computer Information Systems (CIS) and Office Systems Technology Division Chair and Instructor at Drake State Community and Technical College.

​Smothers is also a proud grandfather of nine: Zoie, Darrion, Morgyn, Zyan, Madisyn, Kyndall, Jabin, Zeah, and Tezara. Smothers is a proud graduate of Jackson State University and is involved with numerous community organizations. He is an active member of: Alabama Press Association, National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) Board member, a member of Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Huntsville African American Chamber of Commerce, the Founder of New Media Arts Center, and a proud member of Omega Psi Pi Fraternity.

​Smothers realized that he had found a niche when more and more people and organizations requested the newspaper to cover their events. “Many people and organizations had never had any media coverage of their events before,” he said. “It’s more than a newspaper; it’s about the community.” Smothers, on a weekly basis, promotes and is a strong advocate for our community’s progress.

​As Speakin’ Out News enters its 47th year, Smothers thanks God for his longevity. “By God’s grace, Speakin’ Out News has withstood the test of time. Our doors have not closed, like so many other larger publications. We have not been bought out by big business, nor do we solely print digital. Speakin’ Out News consistently prints every Wednesday, making history every week as the longest-running African-American newspaper in North Alabama.