Carroll County local owners learning the ropes, will debut new “old” print newspaper in Eureka Springs this spring

Continued from Page1 the Villager Journal in Cherokee Village and the Clay County Times-Democrat in Piggott. business,” he said.

At the time, that deal brought CherryRoad’s portfolio of Arkansas newspapers to a total of 10. In June 2021, the East Coast newspaper acquirer had also snapped up the Mountaineer Echo in Flippin, the Marshall Mountain Wave, the Pocahontas Star Herald and the Clay County Courier in Corning.

Now with his feet firmly on the ground, Loftis is learning other areas of newspaper operations such as accounting, circulation, advertising and promotions. To gain new subscribers and advertising, Loftis said he and his team are trying new and different ideas that are unfamiliar to him.

“As an owner, I am learning that I will try things that I would have never done as any editor,” he said, laughing. “If I get a great offer, I may be willing to sell space on the front page, which is something I would have never thought about before becoming an owner.”

Before he goes that route, Loftis said the new Carroll County News is taking a more interactive approach to advertising. For instance, the newspaper is seeking sponsors for an “athlete of the week” spotlight and one of the local school districts is now writing a weekly feature.

Out of the 75 counties in Arkansas, Carroll County is among the 10 that have two county seats: one each in Eureka Springs and Berryville. Loftis said after the Citizen went online, people in Eureka Springs told him that the other county seat also needed a “printed paper.” The former area legal newspaper, the Eureka Springs Times-Echo, ceased publishing under that name in 2005 after merging with the Berryville Star-Tribune, itself a merger of the Green Forest Tribune and the Berryville Star-Progress, to form the Carroll County News Midweek Edition

After a legal process to regain the rights to the Times-Echo name, Carroll County Community Media plans to launch a new print edition of the former Eureka Springs newspaper, the origin of which goes back to 1894. That relaunch is scheduled to take place in mid-April, Loftis said.

Prior to CherryRoad’s deal with Rust, Loftis briefly served as general manager of the Carroll County News. In his current role, Loftis is not only an owner but also oversees day-to-day operations as the newspaper’s publisher, editor and whatever else is needed.

“I had a little feel for running a newspaper with Rust, but I still had to report up the ladder. It is a completely different deal as an owner rather than an employee,” he said. “I am starting to get used to wearing many different hats, but that is a good thing. I realize now that the buck stops now with me and my partners.”

As he gets used to wearing those many hats, Loftis said the excitement and rush of being new owners is starting to wear off and the pace of operations is returning to normal. He said after the deal closed on Jan. 1, the new owners also had to locate and move to new headquarters not connected to CherryRoad, as the sale did not include any real estate assets.

“We had a lot going on with the move and everything else, but it is starting to slow down, and we are getting used to the new pace of running our locally-owned

Loftis said that the Berryville mayor will also begin contributing an occasional column for the 1,300-subscriber weekly. Loftis added that the newspaper is also doing weekly promotions to increase circulation, adding three or four new subscribers each week.

“That is what keeps us alive.” he said. The CherryRoad deal also included a shopper, the Ozark Mountain Trader, and two specialty publications, the Eureka Spring Visitor and Currents magazine.

The Lovely County Citizen, previously a free weekly tabloid, was moved to online-

As the new owners continue to get their sea legs, Loftis said the reception from the local community has been uplifting and encouraging.

“You have moments every day when you ask yourself, ‘Scott, what are you doing?’” Loftis said of his role as owner. “But we have a positive feel from the community about local ownership, and that keeps us excited about where we are going.”