Arkansas Publisher Weekly: October 6, 2023

Police chief who led raid on Kansas weekly newspaper resigns

Guest Column:

The Lowe Down: More than...

By Pam Lowe

Press and State Since 1873

Philanthropy and service come naturally for hitmaker Moore

To use a well-worn phrase, Justin Moore has never forgotten his roots.

Often that is a mere platitude, but in the case of the Poyen-born and -raised country music star, it rings true over and over again.

From his annual major fund-raising event in Little Rock for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, to his ongoing support for the Benton Boys and Girls Clubs and recent benefit performances for Central Arkansas tornado victims, Moore makes it a habit to step up to the plate to help people.

Additionally, he emphatically is a public relations superstar for the people of Arkansas.

Taking all that into account, Moore is the perfect selection for this year’s Headliner of the Year Award to be presented Oct. 12 at APA’s second annual Press Freedom Gala at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock.

Chenal Country Club is an appropriate venue, since it is also the location of the annual Justin Moore Golf Classic to benefit St. Jude. The event, now in its third year, raised a whopping $425,000 for the hospital this past April.

Moore performs an acoustic set with other musicians the night before the golf tournament. A silent auction also is a big part of the festivities.

Moore characteristically downplays his own involvement in the event, saying, “I just show up and play golf,” while citing all the volunteers who make the tournament so successful.

“It speaks to all those people more than it does to me. It makes me proud to be an Arkansan, and particularly someone from Central Arkansas.”

The country music industry shares a long-term relationship with St. Jude. Moore is honest in admitting he was somewhat apprehensive about visiting the hospital the first time several years ago, thinking it would be a sad and depressing experience.

“It was completely the opposite,” he said. “It was incredibly uplifting. In fact, it was magical in many ways. These kids and their families are smiling in the wake of all the challenges they are facing. The visit was somewhat life-changing, to be honest.”

Moore has since visited the hospital perhaps 15 times and

APA Headliner of the Year Justin Moore

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!

Moore

Continued from page 1

has developed into one of its best-known supporters.

In that same vein, Moore joined several other country musicians in a “To Little Rock, With Love,” concert to raise funds to benefit victims of the March tornado in Central Arkansas. That particular effort raised more than $100,000.

Moore has helped raise a remarkable $1 million over a 10-year period in support of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Saline County. This year’s event will take place two days before the APA gala. The success of the event enabled the construction of a major new facility in Benton several years ago.

Benton holds a special place for Moore as his family lived in the community five years prior to moving back to his hometown of Poyen in Grant County about nine years ago. His wife Kate Moore and a friend also own a business in Benton.

Moore said the involvement with the Boys and Girls Clubs has been a good learning experience for his own four children as they see the appreciation expressed by

youngsters, often less-fortunate, when they are recipients of assistance from others.

He credits his parents, Tommy Ray and Charlene Moore, with developing a sense of gratitude in his life, encouraging him to assist others through his fame and good fortune.

“I am very blessed to have great parents who have stressed to me that, if you have the platform, use it to help those less fortunate than we are,” Moore said. His family’s strong Christian faith also plays a role in that regard, he added.

Moore also enjoys promoting Arkansas in his concerts and travels. “I am biased, obviously, but I just think we have great, hard-working, God-fearing people who really care about and take care of each other. There is a strong sense of community regardless of where you go in the state.”

Moore believes Arkansans sometimes have a “chip on our shoulders” because the state is underappreciated and underestimated nationally, leading its people to often strive to over-achieve.

“I’m proud to have a big Razorback on the back of my tour bus – and I still had it on there when we went 2-10 in football,” he laughed.

Moore is a rabid supporter of Razorback athletics and is good friends with football coach Sam Pittman and his wife, pulling hard for the team each week.

“I’m as passionate about sports as I am about music,” he said. He played baseball and basketball in high school and had an opportunity to continue baseball in a small college setting. Moore had visions of making it as an athlete, but said he needed to be “about a foot taller for that to happen.”

Moore has continued his involvement with athletics by coaching his children’s youth baseball, basketball and softball teams and recently enjoyed seeing his young son play his first flag football game. “He is being coached by one of my best friends in high school,” he said. “That’s what I always wanted for my kids.

“I just love kids and being around them and

See Moore page 5

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Moore

Continued from page 3

teaching them the game. My main goal is for them to love the game and want to play next year.”

Moore loves performing on stage and sees comparisons between musical and sporting events in the planning and teamwork required to be successful in each field. “With both, you also learn to live with both success and disappointments. I really think my experiences in sports has aided me in what I do for a living.”

He also has parlayed his love of sports into a regular spot on the Little Rock morning radio team at 103.7 The Buzz each morning, along with David Bazzel and Roger Scott. The trio talks sports, and the show is among the most popular in Arkansas.

Moore is good friends with legendary DJ Tommy Smith and, through something of “a fluke,” ended up accepting the radio position upon Smith’s retirement. Moore asked the others what the plans were going forward and suggested he might think about doing it.

“I never thought it would go anywhere, to be honest, but we just kind of ran with it. At one point I asked myself, ‘what am I doing?’ I work at the other 9 o’clock time.”

But it has all worked out, and Moore clearly enjoys talking about his passion for sports. And it is fun for the entire crew to wonder where he will be when checking in for the show, considering his nationwide tour scheduling.

Moore grew up enjoying and playing music but didn’t totally focus on his potential career until the end of his very short college stay.

He graduated as salutatorian of his class at Poyen High School. His wife teases him that it’s not that impressive since there were only 39 in his class. “I told her it was better than being 38 out of 39,” he said with a laugh.

He enrolled at what was then Ouachita Technical College in nearby Malvern upon graduation and already was close to sophomore status because of advancedplacement classes in high school.

After only two weeks of college, Moore told his parents he wasn’t going back. They originally thought he wasn’t returning that

weekend, but he meant forever. He was leaving for Nashville to pursue a potential music career.

Moore was somewhat surprised how supportive they both were. “You might as well give it a try,” his father told him. His parents continued to support his dream and helped him financially in those early days. “And everyone here was really pulling for me.

“I bet they thought I was crazy,” he said. “And I probably was.

“The best advice you can give your kids is to pursue their dreams,” Moore said. “I really think you can literally do whatever you put your mind to do. I know it’s considered a cliché, but it’s true.”

Moore signed his first record contract in 2008 and his career has skyrocketed ever since.

In October 2009, “Small Town USA” became his first number one single. He has followed that with roughly 20 top hits among his seven studio albums, 10 achieving number one status.

The first major tour Moore did was with Hank Williams Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd, noting that is a hard experience to top. He grew up on “Southern rock and old school country,” thrilled that he was on stage among the best.

He has toured with many great names in

country music over the years, with one of the highlights being on stage recently in Little Rock with George Strait. “I can’t tell you how excited I was about that,” he said. “It was mind-blowing.”

Moore said “radio has been great” to him over the years and has been a major key to his success. “It has given me a platform,” he said.

Evaluating the nature of his music, he said, “I think it is real, I think it is genuine and I think it is honest,” adding that the theme of “Small Town USA” seemed to capture that essence.

Moore said some of his best early advice was to stick to what he believed and not try to second-guess what the public might be looking for in country music.

“If it’s personal to you, it’s personal to a lot of other people,” he said. “Some like it, some don’t, but I’m not going to change.”

Moore believes that “sticking to his roots” and being honest in his music has been a key to his longevity in the industry. “We have been very fortunate to continue for this long,” he said of a field that sometimes is known for hit-and-miss performers.

When listing his favorite songs, Moore starts with “If Heaven Wasn’t So Far Away,” the lead single from his second album.

“That song has always been really special to

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Moore

Continued from page 5

me,” he said. “I had just lost my grandpa and it was something of a love letter to him,” Moore said. “He was my hero and still is. He was the patriarch of our family, and he taught me a lot of life’s lessons that I go back and use to this day.”

Another song that means a lot to Moore is “Outlaws Like Me.” “I didn’t like the guy that I was when I wrote that song,” he said, adding that he came to the realization that he needed to change.

“In fact, I guess that is my favorite song that I’ve ever done. That song helped me become a better person.”

Moore currently performs on stage roughly 80 to 90 times a year, down from 250 at one point. “When I semiretire, I could see that going down to about 30, but I don’t ever see myself doing no shows at all.”

And he absolutely loves performing live. “To me, that is why we do the other crazy things we have to do.”

Moore has been with Kate (a native of Houma, Louisiana.) for 22 years, married the last 16. “I guess you could say I met her in the most redneck way possible, on our senior trips to Panama City, Florida.”

The Moores decided years ago to raise their

family in small-town Arkansas.

“I knew that I had to go to Nashville to pursue my career, but I never planned to live there forever,” he said. “My intention was to always move home. I never bought a house in Nashville.”

The family now lives in Poyen and attends the church where he grew up.

“I wanted my kids to have a normal upbringing,” he said. “My wife and I just felt like this was the right thing to do. It may not be for everybody, but it sure works for us.”

Moore said the example set by his parents has been a huge factor in his own family. “They have been an incredible influence in my life. They set the bar high on how to raise a family.”

The Moore children are Ella Kole, 13; Kennedy Faye, 11; Rebecca Klein, 9, and Thomas South, 6.

All in all, it is an exciting and fulfilling life for Justin Moore and his family. He never takes his success for granted and is grateful for all the experiences that made him what he is today. That attitude has led to his path of looking outward to helping others in his hometown area and his beloved state.

“I try to get out and represent the people of Arkansas in a positive way,” he said. And that essentially is the definition of the Headliner of the Year Award, making him a popular and appropriate selection by the Arkansas Press Association.

THANK YOU.

Behind every business and bold move were those who made things happen.

We appreciate our communities and customers for letting us serve them.

We thank Arkansas newspapers for sharing our safety education, energy assistance and efficiency resources with readers.

Harpist Cobb Kenney to provide special music next week at Press Freedom gala

Frances Cobb Kenney, former principal harpist with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, will perform during the Honorees’ Reception prior to the Press Freedom Gala on October 12.

Little Rock native Cobb Kenney began playing the harp at age 6. She is a third-generation harpist, having been introduced to the instrument by her grandmother Ruth Moore Cobb, a founding member of the Memphis Symphony who studied and toured with famed harpist Carlos Salzedo

Cobb Kenney holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music and a Masters of Music from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. While living in Cincinnati she played principal harp with the Kentucky

Symphony, Columbus Symphony, Queen City Chamber Opera and Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, and also had the opportunity to perform as principal harpist with the Cincinnati Symphony on several occasions.

She accepted the position with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra in Northern Colorado in 2014. In addition, she served on the faculty at the University of Northern Colorado and as the Director of the Loveland Academy of Music. She recently returned to Arkansas to become the Director and General Manager at the Conway Institute of Music. Cobb Kenney performs regularly with many groups in Arkansas, Tennessee and Mississippi.

2023 ArkLaMiss Conference set for November 9 – 10

The 2023 ArkLaMiss Circulation, Marketing & Audience Development Conference will return to the Ameristar Hotel and Casino on the banks of the Mississippi River in Vicksburg on November 9-10.

The agenda will focus on audience development and postal issues, including service issues and rate increases, which continue to be of great concern to newspapers.

Online registration for the conference is now open at mspress.org/events/ EventDetails.aspx?id=1773700

Accommodations at the Ameristar are available for a discounted rate of $79 nightly with code ARKLAMS1123. Call 601638-1000 and reference the code to make your reservation.

APA is the coordinating state for this year’s conference. ArkLaMiss is sponsored annually by APA and the Mississippi Press Association.

Rooted in the past. Dedicated to the future.

Newspapers are an important part of our society. They preserve and promote civic health, especially in local communities. We believe in keeping the public informed and educated, while also providing a platform to express opinions.

That’s why we are dedicated to future generations of newspaper readers.

WEHCO NEWSPAPERS, INC.

Police chief who led raid on Kansas weekly newspaper resigns

The police chief who led an August raid on the Marion County Record, a small weekly newspaper in central Kansas, resigned October 2, according to the Associated Press.

Marion Police Chief Gideon Cody was suspended from his post by Mayor David Mayfield on September 28. His resignation four days later follows the release of body camera video showing an officer searching

the desk of a reporter investigating the chief’s past. At the time of the raid, the Marion County Record had not reported on Cody’s past.

Marion city leaders have been facing questions about Cody’s hiring in the aftermath of the raid and after The Kansas City Star reported that the chief had left his previous job at the Kansas City Police Department following accusations that he

had made sexist and insulting comments. The AP reports that Mayfield said he couldn’t answer questions about the chief’s resignation “as it is a personnel matter.”

In August more than 30 news organizations and press freedom advocates, including APA, signed a letter from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press condemning the raid.

This week, and every week, newspapers are for you

By Dean Ridings

newspaper is just that – local. It hires reporters who are trained to provide reliable information about the issues that matter most. Whether it’s the latest happening from the local school board, changes in real estate zoning, high school football scores or a review of that new restaurant you’ve been wanting to try, newspapers deliver what’s important to you.

Your local newspaper is far more than just print. In the ever-changing media landscape, local newspapers have evolved to true multi-channel content providers. From websites to apps, emails, newsletters, video and podcasts, local newspapers are delivering news in innovative ways. As a reader, you get to choose when and where to get the news you need, and no matter the method, can always be assured what you’re reading is credible and reliable.

newspaper industry is facing significant challenges. Rising costs, national competitors and the impact of Big Tech companies using newspapers’ content without compensation have all impacted your local newspaper. Now, more than ever, we need their commitment to journalism’s core values. As we recognize National Newspaper Week, let’s focus on the vital role that newspapers play, and consider how we can support them. Subscribing or advertising in your local newspaper not only supports the newspaper but is also an investment in your community.

Americans have more media options than ever. We are inundated with stories, memes, videos and promotions 24 hours a day. Most of us are on social media, which is built to provide an endless feed of content to keep us glued to our screens. And unfortunately, misinformation is prevalent and much of that content isn’t fact-checked, verified or professionally produced. The result is that we’re not always shown what we need to know, or the information that is most likely to impact our lives. That’s where local newspapers come in. Your local newspaper takes a different approach.

National Newspaper Week is a good opportunity to recognize the commitment that local newspapers make to the communities they serve. Your local

Although the format or device readers use to connect with their local newspaper might vary, it’s clear that newspapers are relied on as the source for local news. A recent national study conducted by the independent research firm Coda Ventures shows that 79% of Americans use local newspapers to stay informed about their communities and depend on them to feel connected and to decide where they stand on local issues and to find places and things to do. Further, six out of 10 American adults use newspaper advertising to help them decide what brands, products and local services to buy. It’s clear that local newspapers are vital to healthy communities.

In spite of the new ways to connect with your local newspaper, it’s true that the

On a national level, the Community News and Small Business Support Act (HR 4756) has recently been introduced in Congress. This bill would provide local newspapers with financial support for their newsroom employees, and would go a long way to providing your newspaper with support for the reporters and photographers that are sorely needed. Encourage your members of Congress to support this bill!

Whether you access the content from your local newspaper in print or online, remember that it is produced for you. And behind the articles, columns, and images your newspaper produces is a team of local residents who are committed to making your community stronger! Join me in thanking your local newspaper – during National Newspaper Week – for the good work it does to keep your community informed.

Dean Ridings is the CEO of America’s Newspapers. Learn more at newspapers.org.

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Guest Column: The Lowe Down: More than...

By Pam Lowe

Sleeping on a front porch during warm nights in Kansas City, a young nine-year-old boy was living the dream. It was the 1940’s when my dad would rise in the pre-dawn hours to roll his newspapers and prepare to ride his bicycle to throw papers onto subscribers’ front porches. Perhaps the accuracy of his newspaper tosses was the precursor to becoming a fine pitcher. In fact, he received a letter from the Kansas City Athletics to attend a team tryout as a young man in the late 1950’s. As fate would have it, the date of the event was the day he was leaving to join the Army.

My dad was the oldest child in his family with five sisters. Being the oldest boy, he learned responsibility at a young age. The money he earned from his paper route helped his parents to make ends meet. He began his working life in the newspaper business and life came full circle when the last 35 years of his career he supported his wife and two daughters working in a printing facility as the supervisor. The smell of newsprint, black ink embedded in the swirled grooves of his fingerprints, and a shop uniform complete with embroidered name badge spelling, Bob, were the hallmarks of his support and dedication to not only his job, but to us, his family. Every Tuesday evening, he would walk in the door after work and plop down the Merchandiser, a free shopper’s guide/classified publication, on the kitchen table. On Thursdays, it would be the Courier that he would deliver home. I learned from him what “out of register” meant and the importance of perfecting a print job or doing your best work on any endeavor for that matter. When I first became an editor after a career in education, he taught me about a paper’s layout.

Newspapers have been a bedrock in my life from my earliest recollections. I can close my eyes and recall the aroma of coffee percolating and Wynn Stewart crooning “It’s Such A Pretty World Today” on the radio as my parents read the Kansas City Star’s morning edition at the breakfast table. And then in the evening I would hear the distinct rustle of newspaper pages turning and see nothing but two hands holding the back of the open spread of the late day edition being read from the couch or recliner in the living room. The desire to read the newspaper was such that when the paper was thrown on rainy days, much effort was taken to delicately separate the soaked newsprint to lay it open to dry

in a low temp oven. If you’ve never baked a newspaper for your reading pleasure and inhaled the slightly burning pages, you haven’t lived.

It comes natural to wax poetic about the noble newspaper. After all, it was newspapers that the founders of the Constitution relied on to inform citizens. It was newspapers that broke stories such as Watergate and other stories, that served as watchdogs to the unwitting public. It’s been our long and faithful friend, the newspaper, that has upheld democracy throughout history.

The invention of printing presses gave birth to publications and newspapers, which revolutionized the world. Sadly, today there are fewer than 100 newspapers in the state of Arkansas. There are those who believe that the death of their local newspaper would have no impact on their community. The importance of a newspaper to a city or town is more than what meets the eye. Newspapers play a part in the region’s development.

What members of a community may not realize is that the fate of their local newspaper is determined by them. Supporting the paper is their investment into their town. If people do not subscribe, purchase from news racks or, worse, if they steal newspapers from racks; then they are contributing to the fate of their community newspaper. The same can be said about advertising dollars as it pays for each page printed. The number of pages published in your paper is a direct correlation of how much has been paid to be printed.

In correlation with National Newspaper Week, Oct. 1-7, allow me to communicate the reality that a newspaper is more than newsprint that arrives in a folded configuration in your mailbox, doorstep or news racks. Newspapers are more than the headlines that announce the latest happenings of a community. Newspapers reflect a picture of a community; perhaps a place new residents might want to live or a city in which businesses might want to invest. Newspapers are more than a paid subscription, they are the soul of justice, integrity and trusted news.

Pam Lowe is the editor of the Clay County Courier in Corning. Contact her at plowe@cherryroad.com

ARKANSAS PRESS ASSOCIATION

Press Freedom Gala

CELEBRATING SUPPORTERS OF DEMOCRACY

PRESS FREEDOM GALA

CELEBRATING SUPPORTERS OF DEMOCRACY

Honoring

Justin Moore, Headliner of the Year

Rex Nelson, Distinguished Service Award

Rusty Turner, Distinguished Service Award

Late Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller, Arkansas Freedom of Information Award Mike Masterson, Golden 50 Service Award

Thank you to our sponsors

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