Tim Ghianni, a Lipscomb adjunct who worked as a newspaper journalist for more than 30 years, has published “a love letter to how newspapers used to be.”

The “love letter” comes in the form of his newest book “When Newspapers MATTERED: The News Brothers & their Shades of Glory.”

Ghianni’s book was published in April, and Ghianni was recently a guest on well-known journalist John Seigenthaler’s Channel 8 segment, “A Word on Words,” which aired Sunday morning.

Between freelance writing, teaching and advising Lumination, Ghianni found time to write his book in 2011. His inspiration for the book was a story he reported 30 years ago, about two young people being murdered.

“It was a therapy thing for me to write, because I could not get [the murders] out of my head” Ghianni said.

Co-Author Rob Dollar also played a big role in writing the book.

Ghianni, left, and Rob Dollar

Ghianni said he would write a few chapters then send them to Dollar who would read, make edits, add his view and send it back to Ghianni. This became a back and forth rhythm for eight months until the book was completed around Christmas 2011.

“All I ever wanted to be was a newspaperman,” Ghianni said.

Ghianni’s love for writing hasn’t changed even though, according to him, the newsroom environment and the community aspect of news has changed.

“The book is a love letter to how newspapers used to be,” said Ghianni, explaining that the newsroom atmosphere is not the same. “I don’t like how it is now. I loved the way it was.”

At the core of the book is a tale of what Ghianni and Dollar were doing through their careers. There are a lot of anecdotal stories and interviews, he said.

Seigenthaler, a former newspaper editor and publisher, who now works with WNPT (Nashville Public Television), contacted Ghianni, asking him to be a guest on his show to discuss the book. When Ghianni got the call from Seigenthaler, he said it was a surprise and a real honor.

Ghianni said the show went well, and “it was a huge honor because of who John Seigenthaler is.”

“We talked mostly about the book and the newspaper business and how it changed,” Ghianni said.  “We also talked about our parallel careers back in real newsrooms.”

The book was not only a therapy for Ghianni but a way to remember his “News Brothers” and their memories, he said.

“In a very real way, it is the story of friendship. Not just between me and Rob, but for all the fellows that we kept a friendship with for three decades.”

Ghianni’s book is available in hardback and paperback on Amazon and online at barnesandnoble.com. He has also published an eBook (available on Kindle) called “After the Flood,” which describes his personal account of the 2010 flood in Nashville.