FOIA fight

Continued from page 2 newspaper in the state that does that,” Johnson said. “I am really pleased with the fact that our readers and advertisers can always know the Times-Herald is going to be there every weekday afternoon.”

Additionally, the Times-Herald publishes a TMC each week, the East Arkansas Advertiser, as well as the neighboring Marianna Courier-Index. The seven press runs are handled by the only allfemale crew in Arkansas.

“I wouldn’t trade them for anyone,” Johnson said. “They can really make that old press sing.”

The press crew is supervised by long-time employee Teresa McCrary, who recently received the national Production Manager of the Year award from Editor & Publisher Magazine. “We were all very proud of her for that honor,” Johnson said.

The newspaper now is comprised of Johnson, McCrary, press assistant Dusty McCollum, salesperson Bill McLoud, reporter/ photographer Brodie Johnson, composer Mae Watson, bookkeeper Teresa Wall and circulation manager Bobby Teal.

The staff reporter, Brodie Johnson, is the publisher’s son. She said the original plan was for him to help with news temporarily, but he now has been on the staff four years. “He enjoys covering the news just as I do,” she said.

He handles the police and fire beats on a regular basis. “Brodie really enjoys the relationships and camaraderie he has developed and has made a lot of friends,” she said.

Sports coverage is handled by a retired local newspaperman, Fred Conley, on a contract basis. Additional sports stories are supplied by Arkansas Razorbacks reporter Otis Kirk.

Of course, Johnson is focused on the major challenges faced by community newspapers in the current environment.

“One concern that stands out to me is trying to convince advertisers that the local news they enjoy needs to be supported by them,” she said. “Not all of them are willing to back the newspaper with their money.”

Johnson said a concerted effort is made to make their advertising dollars effective through combining print and online messaging. “Don’t get me wrong, though, we do get some good support. It must be recognized that we are in the Delta and money is not plentiful here.”

The veteran publisher said special promotions are critical to the budget, with the annual Farm Family of the Year section a major income source. This year, the newspaper also is printing a Cross County farm family section due to the current absence of a newspaper in nearby Wynne.

Johnson firmly believes in the critical role of the newspaper in any healthy community. A local publication is important in providing a watchdog role for local boards and commissions. Radio stations may provide a 30-to-60-second report on local meetings, she said, “but if they want the real story, they pick up the newspaper.”

Concerning her reason for staying in the industry for so long, Johnson said it relates to “being able to interact with the community. It is important to me to have been able to develop genuine trust over all these years. Plus, I really enjoy going to the public meetings.”

Johnson laughingly said that, in a way, she didn’t have a choice in entering the newspaper field.

She said her father, who was postmaster in nearby Wheatley (also in St. Francis County), “decided I would go into journalism because he knew I liked to write.”

Johnson graduated from Wheatley High School in 1982 and then attended her first year of college at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.

When she got home for summer break, her father told her, “You start to work Monday” at the weekly Brinkley Argus, then owned by veteran newspaperman Mason Clifton

“I ended up working there during holiday and summer breaks and I just grew to love it,” Johnson said.

After focusing on journalism classes under academic advisor Dean Duncan at UCA (and her work on the student newspaper, The Echo), she landed a reporter position at the Newport Daily Independent, then owned by Orville Richolson

She eventually served about six months as editor of the Independent before accepting a public relations position at Medallion Foods in Newport. “I quickly found out I wasn’t cut out for that,” she said, moving on to her position at Forrest City.

Johnson will reach 33 years at the Times-Herald on Sept. 17.

She has been married 31 years to Rob Johnson, who is manager of the local radio station. They joke they met at the police station. At the time he was covering the police beat for the radio station, while she was doing the same for the newspaper.

“Ironically it has come full circle as our son is now covering that same beat,” Johnson said.

The Johnsons also have a daughter, Hilary Trickey of Jonesboro, and five grandchildren.

Dedicated journalists are crucial to the future success of community newspapers, especially those who take their role seriously as guardians of the public’s right to know. Tamara Johnson has proven through her long tenure in the industry and her willingness to meet the challenge of honoring and protecting the freedom of information that she is indeed a true professional worthy of respect from her readers and her peers.