Arkansas Publisher Weekly: October 13, 2022

Scott Loftis,

of Information Category

Column:

reporting and content have never been more relevant

By Brett Wesner

Publisher Weekly

Hussman, Brummett to be honored for more than five decades of service to newspaper industry at Arkansas Press Freedom Gala

ADG Publisher Walter E. Hussman, Jr. to receive APA Golden 50 Service Award

Groundbreaking Publisher Walter E. has received many awards and accolades over his career. In 2004, he was the first recipient of the Southern Newspaper Publishers Association’s Frank W. Mayborn Leadership Award. In 2008, he was named Publisher of the Editor & Publisher magazine. In 2012, he was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame and in 2014 into the North Carolina Media and Journalism Hall of Fame. In 2018 he received Arkansas Press Association’s Distinguished Service Award, and next week he will receive APA’s Golden 50 Service Award, celebrating a semi-centennial of service to the Arkansas newspaper industry.

Hussman is a third-generation newspaperman. His grandfather, Clyde E. Palmer of Palmer Newspapers, owned and operated as many as 40 newspapers across Arkansas and Texas between 1909 and 1957. His father, Walter E. Hussman, Sr., founder of WEHCO Media, started his career at the Texarkana Gazette in 1931, then continued it with the purchase of the Camden News, his first newspaper, in 1949.

Hussman earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from the University of North Carolina and a Master of Business

Columnist John Brummett celebrates 52 years as writer, political commentator

John Brummett began his newspaper career at 16, when he was hired as a part-time sportswriter at the then-afternoon daily Arkansas Democrat, but he set his sights on becoming a journalist much earlier.

“I thought from age 10 or 12 that I wanted to write for a newspaper. And I sensed I had an aptitude for writing, because, when other kids groaned about a dreaded essay assignment, I started thinking about an easy A,” Brummett said.

Brummett will receive Arkansas Press Association’s Golden 50 Service Award, for service to the newspaper industry for 50 or more years, at next week’s Arkansas Press Freedom Gala. Brummett was eligible for the award in 2020, but the presentation was delayed after the COVID-19 pandemic precluded most in-person gatherings.

The daily newspaper, especially the sports reporting, was deeply influential for young Brummett.

“I grew up a working-class Church of Christ kid living at the end of a gravel lane in southwest Little Rock,” he recalled. “We didn’t take the Arkansas Gazette because it was too liberal. So, in summers, the highlight of my days became the throwing of the then-afternoon Arkansas Democrat

Administration from Columbia University then officially joined the family business in 1970. But he started working in the industry much earlier than that.

“Growing up in Camden, my first job at age 10 was inserting newspapers in the mail room,” Hussman said. “My first fulltime job after graduating from high school was as a reporter for the El Dorado News-Times.”

After joining Palmer Newspapers as an administrative assistant, he later became general manager of the Camden News, then advanced in 1973 to the position of vice president and general manager of Palmer. In 1974, WEHCO Media bought the Arkansas Democrat, the much smaller of two Little Rock-based daily newspapers, and named Hussman, then 27, as publisher.

Hussman immediately set out to improve the Democrat’s fortunes. In 1979, in an effort to reverse many years of declining market share, the Arkansas Democrat, previously an afternoon newspaper, switched to publishing a morning edition, started offering free classifieds to non-commercial advertisers, doubled the size of the news staff and increased the size of the newshole 58 percent, all of which resulted in a larger quantity of both news and advertising than the Arkansas Gazette.

Circulation totals showed the Arkansas Democrat was the fastest-growing newspaper in the United States in 1980. In 1982, the newspaper started running full color on the front page, which was unusual for the time. By 1984, the Arkansas Gazette filed a federal antitrust suit against the Democrat, accusing Hussman of trying to put the Gazette out of business.

The Democrat responded it was only trying to remain competitive, and none of its practices were intended to ruin the Gazette. A federal jury in the court of U.S. District Judge William R. Overton rendered its verdict on March 26, 1986: the Democrat was found innocent of the allegations leveled against it.

The newspaper war that had raged for 13 years ended after Gannett, which had purchased the Gazette shortly after the dismissal of its antitrust suit in 1986, closed the newspaper after publishing a final edition on Oct. 18, 1991. Later that day, the Democrat purchased all the assets of the Gazette, including the subscription list, and renamed the combined newspaper the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Since the Democrat-Gazette has its roots in the original Arkansas Gazette founded by William Woodruff in 1819, it continues to be the oldest newspaper west of the Mississippi River still publishing.

When asked, Hussman recounted several impactful moments over his career: being elected to the board of the Associated Press in 2000, seeing employees realize the power of the company’s profit-sharing program upon retirement and becoming friends with Gannett’s top executives even after the newspaper war ended.

“When I was president of SNPA, Gannett agreed to donate more than $600,000 to the association’s endowment,” he said.

Hussman with his father, Walter E. Hussman, Sr. (left), in Texarkana in 1983.

He also mentioned two providential meetings: “Meeting Paul Smith, who was as important, if not more important, than anyone to the success of our newspaper businesses for four decades, and meeting Roy McDonald, owner of the Chattanooga Free Press, who convinced me that the number two newspaper could become the number one newspaper in a market while spending less money than the competitor. He also convinced me of the importance of a high story count and a large newshole and the importance of avoiding discounting.”

In 2019, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette made headlines nationwide by offering a digital subscription to subscribers via an iPad to supplement or replace the delivery of a printed newspaper. As an early advocate for paywalls on newspaper websites — something which caused a lot of discussion and even criticism when he originally spoke out on the subject 15 years ago, but which now the industry has almost universally adopted — Hussman sees the program as combining the ease and portability of digital media with the integrity of a traditional newspaper.

“In today’s world, I do not see how the economics of print can compete with digital,” Hussman said. “The cost of digital delivery is a fraction of the production and distribution cost of print. For any digital news product to be successful it must be reliable, accurate and have curated content that is relevant to the readers, so they will see value in paying for their subscriptions. I don’t see how a free digital news site can successfully compete with the large social media companies for enough advertising revenue to sustain it, so subscriptions are key.”

Hussman’s daughter, Eliza Gaines, was named executive editor at the Democrat-Gazette in February of this year, following in her father’s footsteps as the fourth generation in the business.

“Of course in any family business you’re pleased to see someone continue it for another generation, but I think it is even more meaningful to the people of Arkansas,” Hussman said.

“Over the decades family ownership of newspapers has eroded, with the rise of publicly owned newspapers in the 1960s and 1970s, which often could not have the same community commitment as local ownership could. Today, with more than half of the circulation in America owned by private equity companies, there is even less community commitment. As one of the last statewide newspapers in America, the people of Arkansas are fortunate to have someone like Eliza, who has a sound education, experience in journalism in both large and small communities and adheres to the traditional values that have stood the test of time. Eliza understands that in addition to any potential profit with ownership, the most important mission is stewardship of an institution, one of the oldest in Arkansas, that has its roots back over 200 years.”

Hussman believes the greatest challenges for newspapers today, at least for print publications, is the high cost of fuel for delivery and the high cost of newsprint, the cost of which is borne by advertising sales.

“For all newspapers, whether print or digital copy, the greatest challenge for ad revenue is competing successfully with

Hussman, in 1993, with wife Ben and daughters Eliza Gaines and Olivia Ramsey, son Palmer Hussman, sons-in-law Alec Gaines and Joe Ramsey and daughterin-law Sharon Boehm Hussman.

Facebook, Google, Amazon and other such websites. Also, young people have grown up on ‘free news’ from social media, and they tend to read on their mobile phones rather than printed newspapers.”

After 52 years in the industry, Hussman does have concerns about the future of press freedom in the United States.

“Freedom of the press is enshrined in our Constitution, but it needs more than that –– it needs public support,” he said. “The public’s confidence and trust in news reporting is at an all-time low. Gallup surveyed 20,000 people in all 50 states in February 2020. Only 23% had confidence in the newspaper’s reporting of the news. The Gallup Poll for this year showed confidence dropped to 16% for newspapers and 9% for television, historical record lows. It seems the public believes much of news reporting is biased, not objective and not impartial.

“That is the very reason we adopted our Statement of Core Values in 2017, five years ago, which emphasizes fairness, objectivity and impartiality,” he continued.

“It was also the primary reason behind our agreeing to the naming of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. My thought was if one of the major journalism schools in America would embrace these time-tested principles of journalism, then maybe we can get other journalism schools to do the same, and other news organizations, too. And that way we could try to rebuild the public’s trust in news reporting. Without that trust, I worry about freedom of the press in America.”

As publisher of the Arkansas DemocratGazette and chairman of WEHCO Media, which now operates 11 daily newspapers, 11 weekly newspapers and 13 cable television companies in six states,

Hussman has made a major impact on both regional and national media.

“Arkansas has benefited greatly from Walter Hussman’s innovative thinking and unwavering commitment to good journalism and the Arkansas newspaper industry for more than five decades,” said APA Executive Director Ashley Kemp Wimberley. “His support to the association has been invaluable, and it would be impossible to overstate his accomplishments and the impression he has had on our industry.”

Hussman feels fortunate as well.

“Somewhere along the way I had a dream of becoming the publisher of the largest and best newspaper in Arkansas. Not everyone gets to live their dream. I have been indeed fortunate, and am grateful to have been able to do it,” he said.

Columnist John Brummett celebrates 52 years as writer, political commentator

in our driveway.

“I listened intently for the sounds of car wheels on gravel and the plop of the rolled-up paper in our yard. I rushed out to get it, then spread it on the living room floor and got my elbows black devouring the baseball box scores and sports articles.”

He worked as sports editor for the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway while attending the University of Central Arkansas but was asked by the managing editor at the time, John Ward, to give political writing a go. In the summer of 1977, he was hired to work on the state desk at the Arkansas Gazette, a position he held for the next nine years. Brummett shared a story from this time as being one that particularly stands out.

“In my second year on the Arkansas Gazette state desk, the downtown Harrison office building of Allied Telephone Company, later Alltel, blew up and did damage all over the business district,” Brummett said. “I got roused from bed by State Editor Jimmy Jones, who told me to get to Central Flying Service to travel with Allied executives to Harrison. I’m not sure it was appropriate getting transported to the scene by the central newsmaking company, but it put me there to get the story. The Allied people held meetings all day while I walked that entire downtown, talking to people about the explosion. Then the company plane headed back to Little Rock about 6 p.m, with me on it.

“The first-edition deadline, for Harrison, was 7:30 p.m. By the time the plane returned and I drove to the Gazette, we were pushing 7:30. Jimmy met me in a rage. ‘Why didn’t you call?’ he demanded. I answered, ‘Because the phone company blew up.’ He settled down

but growled, ‘Get to writing.’ I got to writing and had a decent Page One story done by about 7:50.”

Brummett started covering then-Governor Bill Clinton in 1980 after moving from the state desk to the State Capitol beat. By 1986, he had been reassigned to write a political column, which continued until he left the newspaper in 1990 to become senior editor and, later, editor of Arkansas Times magazine. Described by Gary Wills of TIME magazine as “the best of the political watchers of Clinton in Arkansas,” Brummett moved to Washington in 1993 to chronicle Clinton’s first year as president, writing columns for both the Arkansas Times, which was by then publishing as a weekly newspaper, and the Arkansas DemocratGazette, before returning to Little Rock in early 1994.

His book, “High Wire: From the Back Roads to the Beltway, the Education of Bill Clinton,” described as an “evenhanded, eye-opening, informed account of the President’s transformation from small-state politician to world leader,” was published by Hyperion of New York City in 1994.

Looking back now, Brummett is blunt about the Clinton era.

“In 52 years, 32 as a columnist, I’ve written some bad stuff. To write that Bill Clinton was ‘more Yale and Oxford than Arkansas’ was utterly absurd. He is more Georgetown than Yale or Oxford and, still, more Arkansas than Georgetown. Clinton’s legacy is simply not much. His presidency was an eight-year experience in competence, peace and prosperity, but a great historical moment did not present itself.”

In 2000, he left the newspaper to write for Donrey Media Group, later known as Stephens Media. In late 2011, he was rehired by the Democrat-Gazette, for which he still writes columns and commentary today.

In a recent column, Brummett said of Walter E. Hussman, Jr., “It is not every publisher of a struggling mid-market daily newspaper who would part with precious funds to retain — twice — a local commentator to write opinions that he disagrees with in his newspaper. I must thank him. You probably blame him.”

In the early 2000s, Brummett started leading “Behind the Headlines,” a nuanced analysis of the week’s news across the state and country, at the educational nonprofit LifeQuest of Arkansas, which holds classes at Second Presbyterian Church in Little Rock.

“I was asked 20 years ago to lead this class, but I didn’t want to do it,” Brummett said. “But then I started feeling guilty about never doing anything for the community except making trouble for it in the newspaper. So, I grudgingly agreed, figuring I’d do it for an eight-week term then bail out. Then they called and said they were having to move my class

Brummett with his beagale, Roscoe, at the Paws on the Runway fundraiser in 2012.

A tribute to Brummett for his two decades of teaching at LifeQuest of Arkansas.

ARKANSAS NEWSPAPER CONNECTION

Are you hiring? Let us know!

The Arkansas Newspaper Connection is a weekly newsletter published by APA connecting freelance and independent writers, editors, photographers and designers with Arkansas newspapers in need.

The publication also lists available job openings and other opportunities at Arkansas newspapers and associate member organizations.

into the sanctuary because of enrollment. From that first class, I have reveled in the energy, and I benefit more than class-members, I suspect. I think every columnist ought to have to stand in front of a couple hundred readers once a week and account for what they write. It’s made me a better columnist and a better person.”

Over his career, Brummett has won numerous awards for his writing in the Great Plains Journalism Awards contest and in APA’s Better Newspaper Editorial Contest. He has also won two national awards from the Association of State Capitol Reporters and Editors for commentary and was inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame in 2014.

Reflecting on his 52 years as a journalist, Brummett is philosophical.

“The decline of newspaper readership coincides with the decline of functional problem-solving politics,” he said. “The challenge in saving our democracy is re- energizing the traditional newspaper role, in whatever digital form that might be — that role being the purveyor of objective, credible and accurate reporting.

“We’re inundated now with instant information, which makes it more important that a news presentation that is less instant, but more traditionally credible, exists, and is widely read and generally respected. We need newspapers like the Democrat-Gazette that religiously separate news and opinion. And, we need readers who respect that, and recognize the difference even as they cruise the Internet and read other things that don’t bother with that separation.”

“I don’t know if all of that can happen,” Brummett said. “But somehow, it must.”

Scott Loftis, Carroll County News take first place in Freedom of Information Category at 2022 NNAF Awards

General Manager Scott Loftis of the Carroll County News in Berryville won first place in the Freedom of Information category of the National Newspaper Association Foundation Better Newspaper Editorial Contest for his series reporting on the City Advertising and Promotion Committee (CAPC).

The judges commented it was a “fascinating read” and that the “use of callout quotes made us want to continue to read.” The judges also remarked that as “a somewhat complex story to tell in the hands of this competent writer, it was clear and compelling.” The category was open to entries from daily and non-daily newspapers of all sizes.

Reporter Robert Cox was also honored in the contest. In all, the Carroll County News brought home five awards, which were presented on Saturday, October 8 during NNAF’s 136th Annual Convention & Trade Show in San Francisco.

Other awards received by Carroll County News are:

Robert Cox, Second Place, Best Profile Feature in Non-Daily Newspapers less than 2,000 circulation: “Medford reflects on nearly 60-year career”

Robert Cox, Third Place, Best Breaking News Story in Non-Daily Newspapers less than 3,000 circulation: “Two brothers die in accident on local farm”

Scott Loftis, Third Place, Best Reporting on Local Government in Non-Daily Newspapers less than 2,000 circulation: “CAPC series”

Scott Loftis, Honorable Mention, Best Investigative or In-Depth Story or Series in Non-Daily Newspapers less than 3,000 circulation: “CAPC series”

A R K A N S A S P R E S S A S S O C I A T I O N

THROWBACK THURSDAY

Son of newspaper publisher makes a name for himself

as a Rhodes Scholar. He served as a U.S. Senator for Arkansas from 1945 to 1974, and is widely known for creating the Fulbright Program, which now serves 155 countries.

Johnson promoted to production manager at The Courier

Mark Elliott, publisher of The Courier in Russellville, has announced the promotion of Jody Johnson to production manager following the retirement of former production manager David Weaver

As production manager, Johnson will oversee the mailing of six newspapers and facility management, and share responsibility with the press manager for press operations. Additionally, Johnson will manage the commercial printing and circulation operations.

“Jody’s knowledge and experience is a great addition to our leadership team,” said Elliott in a Courier article announcing the promotion. “Jody is an excellent match for this key position as we make continued investments in our production facility.”

Johnson, a native of Dover, has been employed at The Courier since 2008.

ArkLaMiss Conference returns to Vicksburg this November; registration now open online

Register now to attend the 2022 ArkLaMiss Audience Development Conference being held Nov. 17-18 at the Ameristar Hotel and Casino in Vicksburg, Mississippi.

Newspaper professionals are encouraged to attend the conference, co-hosted by APA and the Mississippi Press Association, which will feature two days of circulation and marketing training.

Bill Ostendorf of Creative Circle Media Solutions will lead a morning session on how and why print can still thrive, and an afternoon session on developing content that will drive readership. Ostendorf

had decades of newsroom experience, including 13 years as managing editor of the Providence Journal in Rhode Island, before becoming a full-time consultant and presenter with Creative Circle 22 years ago.

The conference will also include the traditional Hot Ideas Exchange and a round table for discussion of common issues and challenges at community newspapers.

Find registration and room block information at arklamissconference.com

INDUSTRY QUOTE LET’S GET SOCIAL

“America is a country of inventors, and the greatest of inventors are the newspaper men.”

– Alexander Graham Bell

LET US KNOW

We want to know about your new hires, retires and promotions!

Send your staffing changes to info@arkansaspress.org to be updated online and included in the Arkansas Publisher Weekly.

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Mayor Seth Smith, left, signs a proclamation declaring October 2-8 as Newspaper Week in Mena, as Mena Star Publisher Tom Byrd looks on.

Guest Column:

Newspaper reporting and content have never been more relevant

By Brett Wesner, Chair of the National Newspaper Association

We all have stories of readers desperately seeking reliable information about COVID-19 during the pandemic and turning to us to deliver accurate national and state health departments’ evolving assessments as well as local reporting on treatment options in our communities.

We at NNA see it in our daily government affairs work with members of Congress, who almost uniformly admire their local community papers regardless of how they might feel about the national press.

We see it in the example of the civic leaders in Mineral Wells, TX, who were so distraught over the closing of their newspaper that they reached out to Jeremy Gulban and his CherryRoad group to open a new one. That he did, as he has in other communities.

And these examples of relevance are borne out by the hard numbers. In March, the National Newspapers Association and NNA Foundation commissioned a survey of readers from across the country, conducted by the highly regarded Susquehanna Polling and Research team. The results confirmed our daily experiences.

The study found local newspapers as the most trusted source when it comes to learning about candidates for public office. On a 10-point scale (with 10 being the “highest”), local newspapers are rated a 7.38, higher than TV stations (6.45), radio (5.58), political mailings (4.63) or social media platforms (2.65).

And our trustworthiness is growing. Compare this year’s results to our 2019 study, when on the issue of trustworthiness, community newspapers represented a more trusted news source (5.77 on a 10-point scale) than other news sources, rating higher than national

network TV news (5.13), cable TV news shows (4.60) and all others. Social media sources like Twitter or Facebook were rated lowest, at 2.92.

The study confirms there is a strong correlation between those who read community newspapers and those who cast ballots in elections. A combined 96% of readers of local newspapers say they plan to vote this November—either “very” or “somewhat” likely.

“It seems to us,” Jim Lee, president of Susquehanna Polling and Research, Inc., said, “that voters are increasingly hungry for a higher level of professional integrity when it comes to journalism (both local and national) in today’s age of constant cable TV news and partisan leaning news media outlets.”

TV stations (70%) and local newspapers (68%) are most often relied on as news sources to make decisions about elections compared to much lower scores for direct mailings from candidates or political parties (44%), radio stations (40%) or social media platforms (19%).

A combined 77% of respondents say they read a newspaper that covers their local community (a nice increase from a 65% average, 2017-2019), consumed via printed edition and online edition, as well as these additional online options that were not in previous surveys: Facebook, YouTube, TikTok or other social media platform.

Local newspapers also continue to receive high metrics on things like “[it] informs me” (93% agree), “[it] provides valuable local shopping and advertising information” (81% agree), and “my household relies on [it] for local news” (83%).

The trust quotient is easy to understand. While some readers may think they get

news from social media, who knows the source of that news? But readers know where their local newspaper is and how to ask questions or challenge the editor’s news judgment when they disagree.

The difficulty, as most in the industry realize, is not in the relevance of our content, but in our revenue models.

Most local newspapers are experimenting with technology to enhance our readers’ experience and provide new ways for our advertisers to reach our still-strong audience, including newsletters, video, e-editions, and social media publishing, both for our own publications as well as our advertisers. But the reliance upon the revenue from the print newspaper remains the backbone of the newsroom. Too many have written the obituary of the print newspaper when, instead, they should be supporting its mission.

Readers can help with their subscriptions and contribution. More critically, Congress can help by creating a level playing field for newspapers through the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act. It also can ensure that the valuable federal advertising dollar reaches America’s smaller communities through local newspapers.

Americans believe in and rely upon community newspapers. Are we in a crisis of revenue, yes, most certainly. But relevance? We have that hands down.

Brett Wesner is the president of Wesner Publications, based in Cordell, Oklahoma. Wesner was elected chair of the National Newspaper Association’s board of directors in 2020. He contributes regular columns on positions important to NNA.

Event Details

Statehouse Convention Center in the Wally Allen Ballroom

Thursday, October 20 Cocktail Reception at 6 p.m. | Program at 7 p.m.

Cocktail/Formal (black tie optional)

$200 each or Table of 8 for $1,500

To purchase tickets or a table, visit: arkansaspress.org/events.

2022 Partner Levels

HEADLINER

$10,000 (one)

• One complimentary table for eight at event

• Branding in statewide newspaper advertisement promoting event

• Five complimentary full-page advertisements in association newsletter

• Three complimentary statewide news release distributions to the APA News Network

• Name/logo on event tickets

• Name/logo on event tables, signage and promotional materials

FRONT PAGE SPONSORS

$7,500

• One complimentary table for eight at event

• Branding in statewide newspaper advertisement promoting event

• Three complimentary full-page advertisements in association newsletter

• Two complimentary statewide news release distributions to the APA News Network

• Name/logo on event signage and promotional materials

BREAKING NEWS SPONSORS

$5,000

• Four complimentary tickets to event

• Branding in statewide newspaper advertisement promoting event

• Three complimentary full-page advertisements in association newsletter

• Two complimentary statewide news release distributions to the APA News Network

• Name/logo on event signage and promotional materials

FRIENDS OF PRESS FREEDOM – INDIVIDUAL SPONSORS ONLY

$500

Show your support for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in honor or in memory of a loved one, or in your own name. Email information to ashley@arkansaspress.org

• One complimentary ticket

• Name submitted printed in event program

All donations benefit the Arkansas Newspaper Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and are tax-deductable.

About the Honorees

Headliner of the Year

2020 Headliner of the Year

Asa Hutchinson, Governor of Arkansas

Asa Hutchinson is the 46th governor of the State of Arkansas. In 2018, he was re-elected with 65% of the vote, having received more votes than any other candidate for governor in the state’s history.

He has won recognition for the state as a leader in computer science education, cut taxes by over $250 million, and signed a law that exempts the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax.

President Ronald Reagan appointed Governor Hutchinson as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three successive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed him director of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as an undersecretary in the newly created Department of Homeland Security. His experience has established him as a national resource for his expertise on trade, energy, national security and education. The governor has been invited to the White House several times to join discussions about health care, Medicaid and education issues.

The Governor is the former Chairman of the National Governors Association. He is also the former co-chair of the Council of Governors and the former chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), Southern States Energy Board (SSEB) and the Southern Regional Education Board.

Governor Hutchinson grew up on a small farm in Gravette. He is a graduate of the University of Arkansas law school. He and his wife, Susan, have been married 49 years. They have four children and seven grandchildren.

2021 Headliner of the Year

Hunter Yurachek, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics University of Arkansas

In his fifth full year as vice chancellor and director of athletics at the University of Arkansas, Hunter Yurachek has solidified the Razorbacks as one of the nation’s elite intercollegiate athletics programs.

Since December 2017 Yurachek has worked tirelessly to foster athletics success in 19 sports, restore the tradition of a storied program and enhance the student-athlete experience for 465 student-athletes.

In the 2021-22 academic year, Arkansas recorded the most successful collective year in the program’s history, finishing seventh in the Learfield IMG Directors’ Cup, the competition that tracks the nation’s most successful intercollegiate athletics programs. This bested the eighth place finish Razorback Athletics posted in 2020-21. Arkansas’s previous best finish prior to 2020-21 was 14th in the competition.

The Razorbacks finished first among programs with 19 or fewer sports, second among SEC schools and earned only its second top-10 Directors’ Cup finish, following a then-record eighth place finish in 2020-21. Despite sponsoring only 19 sport programs, Arkansas

Hunter Yurachek, Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics

University of Arkansas

earned a total of nine top-10 NCAA finishes and 12 top-20 NCAA finishes.

In the classroom, Razorback student-athletes earned a program-record 3.27 GPA and a total of 97 Razorback student-athletes earned their degrees in the 2021-22 academic year.

The University of Arkansas and Yurachek are being nationally recognized for those accomplishments. Yurachek was selected as a 202122 Football Bowl Subdivision Cushman & Wakefield Athletics Director of the Year by his peers, and was also a finalist for the Sports Business Journal 2022 Athletics Director of the Year.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson named Yurachek to the Governor’s Economic Recovery Task Force to help guide state reopening in the wake of COVID-19. In April 2021, Yurachek was named to the NCAA Football Oversight Committee, after previously serving on the NCAA Football Competition Committee

Distinguished Service Award

Craig and Brent Renaud, Documentary Filmmakers, Television Producers and Film Programmers

Renaud Brothers

The Renaud Brothers are best known for their character driven, cinema verité documentaries like Dope Sick Love, Last Chance High, Off to War and Meth Storm. Brent Renaud was the first American journalist killed in Ukraine in 2022, while documenting the refugee crisis. The Renaud Brothers’ work has won a Peabody Award, two Columbia DuPont Awards, two Overseas Press Club Awards, an IDA award, a Webby and an Edward R. Murrow Award. Craig Renaud is currently in production on a number of film projects, including a documentary about his late brother Brent and a national PBS series called Southern Storytellers.

Brent Renaud pictured in a Libyan Desert. Photo courtesy of Jeff Newton.

Golden 50 Service Award

John Brummett, Columnist

In December 1969, a few days after his 16th birthday, John Brummett , a junior at McClellan High School in Little Rock and sports editor of his school newspaper, went to work part-time for the then-afternoon Arkansas Democrat in the sports department.

He worked before school, from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m., helping produce the afternoon sports pages. He covered local high school sports events in the evenings and local golf, tennis and swimming events in summer.

He has worked continuously since—more than 52 years—for newspapers or news services in Arkansas.

While attending the University of Central Arkansas, he was sports editor of the Log Cabin Democrat in Conway and later a news reporter for the paper. He joined the Arkansas Gazette in July 1977 as a statedesk general assignment reporter. He became a state Capitol reporter for the paper in 1980, and, as the newspaper war between the Gazette and Democrat heated up, a columnist beginning in 1986.

He became a senior editor of the Arkansas Times and Arkansas Business in 1990 while also a contract columnist for the Democrat.

Then, in 1993, he wrote columns both for the Democrat and Times while in Washington writing a book, called “Highwire,” about Bill Clinton’s first year as president.

Back in Little Rock in 1994, he became exclusively a columnist for the surviving Arkansas-Democrat-Gazette, leaving in 2000 to become a columnist for the Arkansas New Bureau of Stephens Media. He returned in 2011 to the Democrat-Gazette as a contract columnist, and he continues in that role today.

He has won many state column-writing awards, a few regional ones and two national ones from the association of state Capitol reporters.

In 2017, he was inducted into the Arkansas Writers Hall of Fame.

Walter E. Hussman, Jr., Chairman of WEHCO Media, Inc. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Walter E. Hussman, Jr., a third-generation newspaperman, was born January 5, 1947 in Texarkana and grew up in Camden. His father was publisher of the Camden News, and his grandfather was publisher of the Texarkana Gazette. Hussman earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from North Carolina and an M.B.A. from Columbia University in New York. He returned to Arkansas in 1971 to work in the family business.

In a David-versus-Goliath battle that few predicted he would survive, Hussman went head-to-head with an established, dominant newspaper and won. In 1974, Hussman persuaded his father to buy the Arkansas Democrat, the afternoon daily newspaper in Little Rock. After a protracted and heated newspaper war, legal battles and even a change in ownership by the opposing Arkansas Gazette, Hussman emerged the winner and bought the assets of the rival newspaper in 1991, creating the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Today, WEHCO Media operates 10 daily newspapers, eight weekly newspapers and nine cable television companies in six states. Hussman was named Publisher of the Year by Editor & Publisher magazine. He was a member of the board of directors of The Associated Press from 2000 to 2009 and C-SPAN from 1995 to 2003. Hussman championed education and after-school programs in Little Rock and the state of Arkansas. He also served on the Arkansas Arts Center board of directors, on the board of the Arkansas Repertory Theater and on the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Society board of directors. While on the symphony board, he started Pops on the River, a patriotic symphony and fireworks show on the Arkansas River in Little Rock.

Auction