THE PUBLISHER | Patrick E. Dorsey

The announcement that publishing giant Gannett Co. was acquiring the Tallahassee Democrat and several other newspapers in a corporate swap in August 2005 caused fear and trepidation throughout the paper’s staff and sent a ripple of unease through the community.

On the same day the deal was made known, it was announced that 37-year-old Pat Dorsey – trained as an accountant, with a 12-year career at the chain focused on finance – would become the Democrat’s president and publisher.

After the announcement, former Democrat managing and executive editor Walker Lundy summed up his fears of putting his beloved paper in the hands of a bean counter: “This feels like one of my early loves has gone off and married an accountant.”

More than a year later, Dorsey admits he and particularly his wife, Kecia, got a pretty good laugh out of that crack.

Dorsey considers himself ready, willing and able to address the challenges that face the Democrat in particular and the newspaper business as a whole.

“I got here because I don’t think like an accountant,” he said.

As part of the management team that analyzed the deal for Gannett, Dorsey said he got a very good schooling in the Tallahassee market before he arrived and learned much about the community during a cordial transition with retiring publisher Mike Pate.

Newsroom purists might shudder when Dorsey refers to the Democrat as “the product,” but it reflects his commitment to go beyond the daily paper and ink when dispensing news and include such things as Web-based and niche publications.

“People are consuming more media, not less – it’s just a time of change,” Dorsey said. “People want that news and information . . . We’re going to put it on any platform you’re going to be comfortable with.”

Dorsey is presiding over changes that are obvious, such as revamping the Tallahassee.com Web site to include video, audio and more photos. Other changes, such as installing a computer-to-plate composing system, are behind the scenes. By the time he finishes up his second year, Dorsey said the company will have invested about $2 million in upgrades.

While moves from Virginia to Arizona to Brevard County to here have enhanced Dorsey’s Gannett career so far, “my plans are to stay here for a long while,” he said. In addition to his wife, his family includes three children, 10-year-old Connor and 8-year-old twins Griffin and Makenna. – Rosanne Dunkelberger