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FOIA seminar set for September 19 at APA headquarters
Guest Column:
Effective reporting of rural health epidemics By Al Cross
A rk a nsa s
ARKANSAS
PRESS
Publisher Weekly
ASSOCIATION
Serving Press and State Since 1873
Vol. 14 | No. 33 | Thursday, August 15, 2019
New Ashdown publisher sticks to facts and figures to grow readership
Mica Wilhite has advanced training in numbers and more than just a little on-thejob experience in words, which makes for a good combination for the new publisher of the Little River News in Ashdown.
Wilhite, who has a graduate degree in statistics, points right to the facts and figures when asked how the lone newspaper in Little River County can grow revenue and readership.
Wilhite is also publisher of the Jefferson Jimplecute in Jefferson, Texas, where she was general manager before being promoted earlier this year. Over the last year, she said subscription rates have increased by 42 percent. She envisions the same kind of growth for the Little River News. “Of all the things we’ve done, what moves our numbers the most is when we put content in the newspaper that readers want to read, articles about what they want to know,” she said. “The content should be specific to them and focused on Mica Wilhite
them. It’s very important to their lives.” Both the Jefferson and Ashdown newspapers are owned by Bob Palmer, who recently reacquired the Little River News from Quinton and Jamie Bagley. Palmer installed Wilhite as the publisher in Ashdown in mid-July. In addition to serving as publisher of both newspapers, the statistician also has her own consulting business. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s a lot of fun to see the similar challenges of both newspapers and to be learning about the unique personality of each town and each county,” she said. “They have their own personalities and they’re both very enjoyable.” Jefferson, in northeast Texas, is about Continued on Page 2
Collector needs assistance identifying portrait subjects among them are several that appear to be drawings of Fisher’s colleagues or members of the Arkansas media. Fisher, an influential political cartoonist, died in 2003. The Encyclopedia of Arkansas said his work “helped define Arkansas politics for a generation.”
A Little Rock man who recently acquired a collection of caricatures drawn by the late George Fisher has asked for help identifying the subjects of the portraits. John Binyon of Little Rock told the Arkansas Press Association he purchased a large collection of Fisher drawings at an estate sale of the possessions of Gene Herrington. Herrington worked at the Arkansas Democrat from 1942 to 1971 and later worked for Arkansas Power and Light, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and North Little Rock Times. Binyon purchased about 120 prints and
A few of George Fisher’s caricatures. (More photos on page 4.)
In an email, Binyon said he is “a fan of Arkansas history and ephemera in general. I have no commercial interest in these images and do not plan to sell them. My hope is to identify the subjects and frame/display the images. If there is any interest in conserving
Continued on Page 4