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Reminder: APW contest entries due by Jan. 28
Guest Column:
Q&A on FLSA salary threshold increase By Tonda Rush
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly Vol. 15 | No. 2 | Thursday, January 9, 2020 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Columnist retires after years of gaining “friends” For almost three decades, Tammy Keith made countless friends she didn’t know she had. Keith, a Conway-based reporter and columnist, was never shy about sharing details about her life in columns that appeared in the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway, the Arkansas DemocratGazette zoned editions, Saline Courier, Malvern Daily Record and other Arkansas newspapers over the years. That, of course, made for some unique moments when Keith was out and about. “I’ve had people in the community who will come up to me and say they read my column,” she said. “People feel like they know me, and they do, because I’m pretty much an open book. I tell things people don’t usually tell about themselves, and I just don’t care.” Keith wrote a weekly column for about 28 years before announcing her retirement at the end of December. The column appeared first in the Log Cabin Democrat, where she worked from 1990 until 2005
with her husband, David Keith. After that, she was a reporter, editor and columnist for the Democrat-Gazette’s River Valley edition.
Whether she was writing about the time she delivered her younger son in the front seat of her car on the Fourth of July or when she forgot about picking up her other son at camp, Keith said the personal anecdotes in her column were ways to connect with readers, and in particular, her sources. Building rapport with potential sources through her columns led to reporting scoops that earned her numerous awards from the Arkansas Press Association and Arkansas Press Women, among others. “It’s made people feel like they know me when I’ve called for a story, too,” she said. “I’ve built up a lot of sources that way.” Keith got her newspaper start at the Jonesboro Sun just a few months shy of graduating from Arkansas State University in 1984. A Harrisburg native, Keith worked for six years in Jonesboro. She met her
Tammy Keith
husband at the Sun, where both were reporters. David Keith had aspirations to become an editor, and they moved to Conway in 1990. David Keith became managing editor in 1994. Aside from a brief time where she stayed home with her younger son, Keith was an Continued on Page 2
Arkadelphia Dispatch applies for APA membership The Arkadelphia Dispatch, a weekly newspaper in Arkadelphia, has applied for membership to the Arkansas Press Association. The APA Constitution and Bylaws require three notifications of the application to APA membership. This is the second of those three notifications. The Dispatch, owned by APA board member John Robert Schirmer, was established in late 2018 following
the closure of the Siftings Herald in Arkadelphia. The newspaper has published weekly since then and is now eligible for full APA membership. In addition to the Dispatch, Schirmer operates the Glenwood Herald, the Murfreesboro Diamond and the Nashville News-Leader. Any APA member who objects to the
Dispatch’s membership in APA may provide a written letter of objection to APA Executive Director Ashley Wimberley, 411 S. Victory St., Little Rock AR 72201 or email ashley@arkansaspress.org