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Arkansas Press Women sponsor ANF internship
Guest Column:
The LJSA is no empty promise By Dean Ridings
Arkansas Press Association
Publisher Weekly Vol.17 | No. 15 | Thursday, April 14, 2022 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Accidental publisher Keith finds role, value in journalism Mark Keith had not intended to be a newspaper publisher. But in September 2018, when it was announced the 89-year-old Hope Star would be shuttering in two weeks, Keith was upset. “I remember watching the man who came to town,” Keith said. “He sat there saying, ‘I’m sorry, but we can’t make it work here.’ And I thought, ‘You are not trying!’ “Let’s start a newspaper.” At the time, Keith owned a Hope furniture store and helped run a local radio show. The Magnolia native said the Hope Star closure really got under his skin. “I’m 59 years old, and I’ve lived in south Arkansas all my life. I’m of a generation that’s lost things. Department stores, mom-andpop stores, all sorts of little businesses, movie theaters, bowling alleys. We couldn’t lose the local paper, too.” A wild hare in his head, Keith went to run an idea by Wendell Hoover, a friend from Prescott who shared space in the same building as his store. “I said, ‘I’m going to start us a newspaper. I’m going to start us one for Hope. If you’ll go in with me, you’ve got Prescott friends, so we can do one for Hope and Prescott. And so we decided to start the Hope-Prescott News.” The two co-publish the newspaper. Both men had experience selling advertising – Keith had sold radio advertising for 11 years, so they decided to follow the radio model. The plan was for the newspaper to be free, wholly supported by the advertisers, and it would not offer Continued on Page 2
Deadline for Better Newspaper Editorial Contest approaching Arkansas Press Association member newspapers have just over a week left to submit entries to the 2022 APA Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. The annual contest is an opportunity to recognize the editors, reporters, designers and photographers who worked so hard over the last year, and recognizes the best work in reporting, writing, headline-writing, design and photography.
Monday, April 25. The contest is open to employees and freelancers of APA member newspapers, with work published in the 2021 calendar year eligible to win.
The deadline for submitting entries is
Entries will be judged by a panel of
This year a new category, Best Digital Presence & Audience Engagement, has been added so that member newspapers can showcase social media accounts and podcasts in addition to their websites.
journalists from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Awards will be presented at the conclusion of the 2022 Tri-State Convention at the Sheraton Downtown Memphis on June 25. Complete rules and entry information can be found at newspapercontest.com/ Contests/ArkansasPressAssociation. aspx. If you have any questions please email Terri Cobb at terri@arkansaspress. org or call (501) 374-1500.