Arkansas Publisher Weekly: January 4, 2024

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Faller chosen to serve as president of Arkansas Press Women Guest Column: Beginning 2024 Right: Headlines from the past remind me that 2024 could be a great year

Arkansas Press Association

Publisher Weekly

By Kevin Slimp

Vol.19 | No. 1 | Thursday, January 4, 2024 | Serving Press and State Since 1873

Lowe engaged in fight for Clay County community journalism While Pam Lowe has enjoyed a lifelong love for her hometown, it is in the past several years that she also has been able to utilize her love of newspapers to make a positive impact on the community of Corning.

-- often working long hours to keep everything running smoothly.

“One of my favorite pictures is of him whistling while working on some machinery,” Lowe said. “I guess he must have been having a good day.”

At age 10, Lowe’s family moved from Kansas City to her mother’s home of Clay County in the northeast corner of Arkansas, and she has remained there ever since. Her initial career was in the education field, but she answered the call when the Clay County Courier needed a managing editor in 2017. For the last six years she has been engaged in the good fight for community journalism, using her teaching experience and her writing skills to pursue a path she enjoys and considers critical for her rural area.

Lowe’s father and Rockwell both served as great mentors as she began her newspaper career. Lowe was dedicated to the effort from the start, saying “The Courier has always been a part of our lives. And somehow, I muddled through. An important part of it is that I love my community and that really helped.”

Lowe’s background as a teacher also served as a benefit in her career shift.

“I had enjoyed a successful and fulfilling career as an educator,” she said. “I just loved everything about teaching. It was a thrill when I would see that lightbulb click on for a student.”

When the newspaper’s publisher at the time, Thelma Rockwell, visited with her about the position, In her role at the newspaper, it had something of a she also sees a teaching sense of “coming home” for element as she presents Lowe. That’s partly because critical information for her father, Bob Fleming, Pam Lowe with CherryRoad Media Publisher Jeremy Gulban and Deputy Publisher citizens needed in their had been involved in Jennifer Fischer at the Clay County Courier ribbon cutting on November 6, 2021. daily lives and potential the Rockwell publishing involvement in the important company for 35 years before issues facing the community. retiring. He served as production foreman for an extensive printing operation that included community newspapers, magazines and a “Of course, I grew up in Corning and have always known a lot of nationwide network of real estate guides. people, but somehow being the editor of the newspaper opens up the life of the town in a different way that you didn’t realize,” Lowe said her father was one of those people who possessed the Lowe said. skills to learn anything, and he became a master at print production See Lowe Page 2 Arkansas Publisher Weekly

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January 4, 2024

Lowe Continued from page 1

“And it’s the stories that stick with you. Many of them will really tug at your heart. I like to help people in any way that I can. That often involves connecting people with someone who can help.”

“You can sometimes say more in a column,” she said. “And I like to see it used to help people work together, keep a positive attitude and get things done.”

She offered one example of a local resident who was having problems with renting a particular property. Lowe connected her with a state legislator she knew specialized in such matters and he was able to help resolve the issue.

She has used that sounding board to help promote shopping locally in response to the surprising closure of the Corning Walmart store in 2018. And she presently is working to present relevant information on what she considers a crucial effort to pass a millage to construct a new high school facility in the community.

On a larger scale, Lowe became involved with a major drinking water problem being experienced by people in the town. She said the city water virtually was undrinkable and also was damaging appliances such as water heaters, dishwashers and coffee makers.

The Rockwell family sold The Courier in 2021 to CherryRoad Media, a New Jersey-based company that owns and publishes community newspapers in 18 states.

Lowe said she has an excellent working relationship with the new ownership group, benefiting from their assistance in various publishing tasks. Company CEO Jeremy Gulban visited for the ribbon-cutting for the new Courier office in downtown Corning.

The Courier is one of four original newspapers in the company’s Arkansas portfolio.

The tipping point seemed to be when she ran a photo of grit and dirt in a water filter damaged at a local restaurant.

The public got behind the effort to remedy the situation and eventually the city’s water source was shifted to Clay County Regional Water rather than the previous substandard city well.

“I’m not pointing to this from a bragging standpoint, but rather to emphasize that there is a power in the press, “Lowe said. “When it is used for good, it’s a great thing.

“He (Gulban) is on a mission to save newspapers, and it’s an admirable mission,” Lowe said. “I’m impressed that it’s what he wants to do, because that is my mission, too. We are very thankful that he came along.”

“The newspaper should be that watchdog and also a catalyst for positive change,” she added.

Gulban also serves on the board of directors of the Arkansas Press Association.

Lowe looks to present factual information in her news stories, but also sees an important role for her opinion column, “The Lowe Down.”

Lowe said The Courier runs 8 to 10 pages a week. The only other See Lowe Page 3

Lowe poses with members of the Rapert-Poyner VFW Post #8347, “some of [her] favorite people in our community,” at the Veteran Memorial at the Western District Courthouse in Corning.

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Lowe Continued from page 2

Clay County Judge Mike Patterson and Peach Orchard Mayor Dianne Neill visit with Lowe in her office.

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Courtney Hudson with Lowe and her husband, Bobby Lowe at the Courier office. Bobby is a Clay County Justice of the Peace and a veteran.

member of the staff is Meryl Whitledge, who has worked at the newspaper for almost 40 years. Lowe handles all the editorial duties, while her co-worker is involved in ad sales/graphics and pagination. Whitledge also performs graphics work for other newspapers in the CherryRoad group. “There’s nothing she doesn’t know about ad creation and InDesign,” Lowe said. “She’s a whiz.”

about the need to support the newspaper. She is convinced they will indeed suffer from its demise, if that happens in the future.

“There are just lots of things the paper provides that people take for granted and don’t think about as much as they should.”

On a broader scale, Lowe believes newspapers are a critical institution, assisting citizens with participating in, and maintaining, democracy. “Without newspapers, people will not have the tools and information they need to help make good decisions,” she said.

“The newspaper simply needs to continue to exist in our world.”

The newspaper publishes several additional promotions and special sections, but the two-person staff necessarily places a limit on those efforts. Lowe made an earlier decision to cut back on her work hours because the pace was too stressful. “There was a period there where I just wasn’t getting much sleep at all.”

Lowe’s love of Corning runs deep. She graduated from high school there before earning a bachelor’s degree from Williams Baptist College in Walnut Ridge. She later completed a master’s degree in education from Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Mo.

Successful promotions often involve recognizing veterans and focusing on the area’s agricultural heritage. Her husband, Bobby Lowe, is a retired veteran and spent several years employed at the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center in nearby Poplar Bluff, Mo. He continues to aid local veterans with information and advice on available benefits.

She taught at Poplar Bluff for 14 years and twice was named Teacher of the Year at O’Neal Elementary. Lowe participated in an exciting STARR program in helping schools throughout Southeast Missouri incorporate innovative programs into their curricula.

Lowe is concerned about the future of rural newspapers and uses her column to educate people in the community about their importance. Lack of advertising revenue continues to be a problem, as is declining circulation.

She followed that with a six-year period serving as a curriculum and instructional facilitator at the Holcomb and Naylor school districts in Missouri.

“One of my goals was to emphasize inquiring-based learning, moving away from yes or no answers to a more open-ended approach,” Lowe said. “I also was all about the computer in the classroom.”

“We need subscribers,” she said, “and I also point out that individuals can help by selling their items through the newspaper whenever possible. Of course, I also stress to local businesses that, if you want to keep the paper, we have to have ads.”

She published an instructional book entitled “Missouri: Then & Now,” and has been involved in blogging, including serving as an online education writer for the Huffington Post.

On the news side, Lowe is distressed about the public’s reliance on the internet, most notably Facebook. “People seem to think Facebook is sometimes the news, and it’s not. It’s not fact-based.

That may be an unpopular opinion to some, but it’s the truth.

As a former educator, Lowe wants to see schools stress to students the importance of learning about the history of their communities

“Come on, guys, wake up,” is her direct message to local residents Arkansas Publisher Weekly

Continued on page 4

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Lowe Continued from page 3

and the dedicated work that went into developing businesses and institutions. For example, Clay County, as well as the Courier, celebrated their 150th anniversaries last year.

“Like anything else, it’s good to teach kids when they are little. They need to learn about civic duty and citizenship.

They need to learn about the people in the past who really worked in the trenches to better their community. You have to have that love of your hometown to see it grow.”

Lowe said both her parents wanted to become teachers, but they were not able to achieve that dream. That was accomplished by Lowe and her sister, Robin Young, who retired as a special education teacher in the Corning School District. Lowe’s mother, Ruth Fleming, was employed at numerous businesses in Corning and still lives in the community. Her father passed away two years ago.

Lowe has no immediate plans to retire from the newspaper, as she continues to love her work and is confident she is filling a much-needed role. “I have a passion for it and don’t want to give it up until it’s in good hands.”

But she does worry about the future. “In a lot of rural communities, it’s hard to find people who can write – and who care about their town. There is someone else out there who can do it. I just hope that person comes along.”

Lowe’s father, Bob Fleming, was plant-press room supervisor for 35 years at Corning Publishing Company and JV Rockwell Publishing.

Connecting People and Communities At the heart of journalism lies an unwavering drive to improve lives.

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January 4, 2024

Faller chosen to serve as president of Arkansas Press Women Illinois University and a master’s degree in digital storytelling from Ball State University. She worked as a newspaper reporter and photographer in Illinois and in communications at Ohio University and Grambling State University before joining UA Little Rock in 2016. She succeeds Kristin Netterstrom Higgins, who had served as president since 2017.

Angelita Faller

Angelita Faller was elected president of Arkansas Press Women during the organization’s membership meeting on December 30.

Faller is news director at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. A native of Newton, Illinois, she holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Eastern

past president, Kristin Netterstrom Higgins, and all her hard work while leading APW for the past six years.

Together, we will amplify the impact of Arkansas Press Women and contribute to the vibrant landscape of journalism in our state.”

In assuming the role of president, Faller expressed her enthusiasm for the future of APW, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2024.

Other board members elected during Saturday’s meeting include Vice President Lara Farrar of Arkansas Business, Secretary Debbie Miller of NorthWest Arkansas Community College and Treasurer Richard Plotkin of Conway, who is retired.

“I am honored to lead this esteemed organization during this important anniversary year. I look forward to fostering collaboration, innovation, and the continued growth of our community of talented professional communicators,” Faller said. “I am especially grateful to our immediate

Arkansas Press Women is an association of professional communicators in journalism, public information, business, education and government.

Founded in 1949, APW is a state affiliate of the National Federation of Press Women. Visit their website at arkansaspresswomen.org.

Storey tells last story, retires from Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Longtime Arkansas Democrat-Gazette writer and editor Celia Storey announced her retirement in her column, “Old News”, on December 31.

Storey initially started at what was then the Arkansas Democrat 45 years ago. “I first set foot inside 121 E. Capitol Ave. in July 1978 to meet managing editor Jerry McConnell, an interview arranged by my father’s pal Mara Leveritt,” Storey wrote in her column.

“McConnell … suggested I prepare to talk about news for my next interview, with city editor Bill Husted. I hadn’t read Little Rock newspapers in about four years, and Husted clocked me as a 22-year-old blowhard. But the copydesk needed warm bodies.

“With teasing help from copy editors like Leslie Welch and Leslie Newell Peacock, Lyndon Finney, Dave Walton, Michael Storey, Eric Harrison and the kind Amanda Husted, and through the desperate tutelage of Patsy McKown, my infancy on the literal rim of the U-shaped copydesk made me a good editor.”

She married her late husband, Michael Storey, in 1981. “After our son was born, Arkansas Publisher Weekly

I facilitated the Little Rock Air Force Base newspaper (1985 Best in MAC) for Lynn Hamilton, created Kid Club in the comics pages, the Signing On broadcasting beat column, the Aerobics column in Sports,” Storey wrote. “And I fought with managing editor John Robert Starr, dropped out to join the PTA, wrote 19 Otus the Head Cats, dropped back in (thank you, Griffin Smith and Jack Schnedler), and then wrote the Fitness Bag column (thank you, Karen Martin) and then Who Needs It.” Storey was named Style section editor in 1998. In her final Old News column, she made note of some of her many co-workers over the years. “...I edited Janet B. Carson. I edited Charlie Albright, Richard Allin and the longstemmed beauty rose Phyllis Brandon. I sat beside Kristin Netterstrom Higgins when she was but a small child. I cheered for Kyle Brazzel, cursed at Bobby Ampezzan, guffawed with Marcia Schnedler. One time, Jennifer Christman stopped me from wearing a fountain ponytail. One time, Ellis Widner raced me in our desk chairs.

Countless times, Kelly Brant and I passed 5

Celia Storey

notes in boring meetings. I remember Helaine Williams’ first day of work and Alyson Hoge’s. And long before them, there was the indomitable Bobbie Forster, tiny Inez McDuff, frantic Betty Woods, careful Randy Tardy. I remember watching Bob Lancaster pound his typewriter with his head.”

Storey noted at the close she had “been an archival quality Arkansas newspaperwoman, and it is hard to let go. And yet I did.”

January 4, 2024

Congratulations on 150 years.

Simmons Bank congratulates the Arkansas Press Association (APA) on 150 years in business and all it has achieved for our state. As Arkansas’s first trade association and the oldest professional association in the state, APA has paved the way for the freedom of press.

Simmons recently celebrated 120 years in business, so we feel a special connection with organizations that share a long history of serving our local communities. We’re proud to be in great company with the APA and look forward to the next 150 years!

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October 13, 2023

- 30 Jimmy Darr

New year brings shift to more online content for some Arkansas newspapers Jimmy Dale Darr of Jacksonville died December 19, 2023. He was 70.

A native of West Memphis, Darr was born in 1953 to James and Lethel Darr. A 1971 graduate of Rivercrest High School in Wilson, he worked in the furniture industry while living in West Memphis. In 1988 he moved to Jacksonville and began a career in retail advertising at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, working there for more than 25 years.

In addition to his parents, Darr was preceded in death by siblings Finis Darr, Ruth Darr Suiter, Delbert Darr, Marcella Darr Duncan and Johnny Darr.

He is survived by wife Cindy Darr; sons Spencer (Terri) Darr of Cumming, Georgia, Zachary (Madison) Darr of Jacksonville and Casey Darr of Dallas, Texas; sister Jane Hutzel of Heber Springs and two granddaughters.

Services were held December 28.

Several Arkansas newspapers have announced changes in their publication schedules for 2024, with fewer newspapers to be printed and more content moved online.

Paxton Media Group announced that the Batesville Guard and Searcy Daily Citizen, both previously published on Wednesday and Saturday, will each now be publishing one larger issue one day a week. The Guard will publish its print edition on Tuesday, and the Citizen on Thursday.

Both newspapers will continue to publish wire service articles, community content and staff-generated stories each weekday online at their respective websites.

The Paragould Daily Press, previously printed on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, will now publish digital replica e-editions on Tuesday and Saturday, with Thursday being the publication day for a larger print edition.

Additionally, the Times-Herald in Forrest City announced that it will change from

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publishing five days a week to Tuesday and Friday publication, effective January 9. The newspaper’s website, thnews.com, will be updated daily, and all current daily subscribers will have access to the e-edition.

“Publishing on Tuesday and Friday will not change anything in the way we cover news in our communities,” Times-Herald Publisher Tamara Johnson said in the announcement of the change. “In fact, it will allow us to focus more on stories that are of interest to our readers. Rather than smaller newspapers Monday through Friday, the Tuesday and Friday editions will be larger and contain more news from throughout the area.”

The Times-Herald also produces the East Arkansas Advertiser, which covers Cross, St. Francis and Lee Counties and publishes on Wednesdays.

All four newspapers cited the costs associated with printing as the key determining factor in the decision to move more content online.

LIST YOUR JOBS 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.

Lists available job openings and other opportunities at Arkansas newspapers and associate member organizations.

Send your listings to info@arkansaspress.org.

January 4, 2024

Guest Column: Beginning 2024 Right

Headlines from the past remind me that 2024 could be a great year

By Kevin Slimp

Making bold predictions is easy. This year, I’ve paid close attention to forecasts by respected sportswriters in national print and online publications to see how my football bowl predictions match up against their predictions. Some of you probably did the same thing.

I was surprised that I correctly predicted the winners of the bowl games at a much higher rate than any of the national sportswriters I followed. There are still a few games remaining in the bowl season, so that could change. For now, however, I’m feeling pretty good about myself.

I think it’s probably easier for someone like me to make predictions like these because I have nothing on the line. I can pick Missouri over Ohio State because I don’t feel any pressure to pick the favorite. Let’s face it: if I’m a respected sportswriter considering picking Ole Miss to beat Penn State, I know I will get hammered if my underdog pick loses. The safe bet is to choose the favorite.

Then, if the favorite loses, most readers will understand because they picked the favorite, too.

I’ve made a career out of making good bets on the newspaper business. More times than not, my bets were not popular among “experts,” but I somehow kept picking the right team.

My first bet was long ago, in the early 1990s. I was betting against big players like Adobe and others who were adamant that designing a newspaper in one location and then magically sending it to another location to print using a new technology called a PDF file was a crazy idea. For a lot of reasons, the idea couldn’t work. Thankfully, a few folks placed their bet on my idea, and before long, the PDF file was the standard for printing newspapers and everything else. A few years later, the CEO of Adobe wrote to me, thanking me for possibly

Arkansas Publisher Weekly

saving his company.

Fast-forward a few years, and I found myself once again making unpopular wagers.

Most noted “experts” were convinced the printed newspaper was within just a few years of extinction. Even newspaper experts predicted the quick end of the printed word. Many leading journalism schools led the way by proclaiming the newspaper business “dead.” I kept hearing the year 2018 knocked about as the year the final newspaper would turn off its press. I wonder when someone will print a tee shirt with “Kevin was right!” on the back.

A quick Google search just now – searching for headlines from the past week – uncovers a windfall of gloomy predictions, including: Inroads: The Canadian Journal of Opinion The Near-Death of Local News Politico No Stopping the Newspaper Death Spiral Whenever I read headlines similar to those, I remember other headlines like this one from 2006: The Economist Who Killed the Newspaper?

I’m also reminded of this one from 2009: Business Insider The Year the Newspaper Died Or this one from 2011: The Guardian British Newspaper to Die in 2019 Many of you are familiar with the Newspaper Extinction Timeline by Australian-based futurist Ross Dawson. I found the timeline from 2010, predicting that newspapers in the United States would be “insignificant” by 2017. According to the timeline, most other nations’ papers wouldn’t face extinction for another decade or two.

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I’m not picking on Dawson or anyone else.

Dawson has since backtracked on the extinction date in the U.S. and admitted it was much too early. That doesn’t, however, undo the damage that was done to newspapers who had to explain to their readers and advertisers that they weren’t dying.

Like football bowl predictions, it’s safer to agree with popular opinion than to make unpopular predictions. I suspect it also leads to more invitations to speak at conferences. I get it.

By now, you might be wondering if I will ever get to my point. Get ready. It’s coming now: It is the beginning of a new year. What if we agreed to pay less attention to experts declaring our demise and spend a little more time appreciating what we’ve created and investing in growing our newspapers?

I hear from publishers daily who are investing in the future of their newspapers.

They’re investing in staff training, new designs, hardware & software, and marketing. They have not only not given up; they are investing in their futures.

If I were an expert who had predicted the death of newspapers a dozen years ago, I’d probably be saying something like, “I didn’t hit the exact date, but I was right. I was just a few years off.”

That seems like the safest way to keep getting speaking gigs. Thankfully, I’m not too concerned about that these days. So let me suggest you give my idea some consideration. It just might make for a much more enjoyable – as well as profitable – 2024.

Kevin Slimp is former director of The University of Tennessee Newspaper Institute and founder of NewspaperAcademy.com. Contact him at kevin@kevinslimp.com.

January 4, 2024