The Southern Tribune is a locally owned weekly community newspaper. It covers news in the southwest Georgia counties of Calhoun, Clay, Quitman, and Randolph.
Each week, our staff strives to provide our readers with current and objective news from the communities we serve. Other weekly features include local columnists, a directory of places of worship, and local school news (academic achievements, field trips, and sports).
Founded in 1983 by Allene Nelson, The Southern Tribune is “dedicated to community pride, promotion, and progress.” That dedication continued when Charles and Roseiline “Sissy” Mathews of Sowega Publishing LLC, purchased The Southern Tribune. It was an honor for the Mathews family to carry the business forward.
Now five years later, on December 20, 2024, Sabrina F. Manning-Prince became the newest owner of The Southern Tribune and is determined to maintain the same level dedication and commitment. A published author with a passion for writing, Manning-Prince began pursuing her interest in the newspaper industry in the late 80s when she worked as a compositor for The Ocilla Star in Ocilla, Georgia, and enrolled at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, GA, to pursue journalism. Fast forward to May 4, 2016, she officially began working for The Citizen’s Times as a writer/reporter and was eventually named co-editor. After Rhiannon Scott, the owner of The Citizen’s Times, decided to retire her newspaper in December 2023, Charles Mathews, asked Manning-Prince to write and report for The Southern Tribune. After a year in that capacity, Manning-Prince was approached by Mathews about her interests in owning the newspaper, and the rest is history in the making.
Manning-Prince stated that she is still experiencing surreal moments of thinking, “Did this really just happen?” She is so very humbled by this opportunity. This aligns with her passion for all things associated with writing (articles, research, poetry, books publishing, editing, ghost writing, public speaking, and more).
“The vision has come to fruition, and I am here! I have arrived!” says Manning-Prince.
“Now, it is full speed ahead with caution, care, and compassion. I want to bring the local news to the communities we serve with a hometown approach and with facts and clarity. The so-called street committee news cannot be the news reported. There will be no investigative reporting. However, if anyone has a story they want to share, we are here to serve.”