Guest Column:
A few words about AI: And skipping the parts you already know about
By Kevin Slimp
Arkansas Press Association PUBLISHER WEEKLY
| No. 3 | Thursday, January 16, 2025 | Serving Press and State Since 1873
Era-Enterprise Editor Dawn Teer determined to make a difference
Dawn Teer is a determined woman, so much so that she started college classes at age 45, eventually earning a degree in professional and technical writing from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
That degree, and experience, led to a career in journalism, with Teer currently serving as editor of the Era-Enterprise covering Stuttgart/DeWitt and all of Arkansas County.
Earning that degree in 2013 was especially exciting for Teer as it came at the same time as the college graduation of her daughter, Bethany Hildebrand. The mother-daughter graduates were the topic for a feature story on KTHV, Channel 11, in Little Rock.
“My dad always wanted me to graduate from college,” Teer said. “I promised him that I would do it. It took a while, but I got it done.”
Teer credits two mentors for providing the impetus for her determination. One was Rosary Jones, an English professor at Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas in Stuttgart. “She wrote a note on one of my papers telling me that I am a good writer and really helped me begin what I call my journey of learning.”
Another important factor for Teer came when journalist Bill Shrum of Stuttgart visited the college and spoke about the history of the community and his coverage of it for the local newspaper. “I knew then that I wanted to be like Bill,” Teer said. As it turns out, they now work together at the Era-Enterprise. Shrum, who has vast knowledge of the community, writes a column, “Bill’s Corner of the World.” Teer also now writes a column entitled, “Dawn’s Delights.”
Teer did not undertake any journalism training in college but enrolled in numerous editing classes. “I learned early on that I have a gift for editing,” she said. “Errors just really jump out at me.”
Teer’s first real experience in newspaper writing came when she completed a series of articles on the chairmen of the various committees which promote and conduct Stuttgart’s World’s Championship Duck Calling & Wings Over the Prairie Festival. The success of that effort led to her writing an article about John Cover, one of the principal organizers of the Gillett Coon Supper, another legendary Arkansas County event. Teer lived in Gillett at the time, so it had special meaning for her.
Teer continues to attend and cover the annual event, which draws
Dawn Teer
political candidates and officeholders from all over Arkansas. “By the way, I don’t eat coon, but the ribs and brisket are very good,” she said with a laugh.
That writing success led to a part-time reporter position for Teer at the Stuttgart Daily Leader and then in 2017 becoming a full-time member of the staff at the White Hall Journal
After only two months in the White Hall position, her group publisher, Ed Graves, asked her to take a position as editor of the Heber Springs Sun-Times
In 2019, Teer moved back to Stuttgart and began working as a freelance writer, often providing articles to the Daily Leader and the Era-Enterprise, then located in nearby DeWitt.
In August 2024, Teer received a call from Clarissa ReavesWilliams, co-owner of the company that had just purchased the Era-Enterprise. “We had a three-hour phone conversation, and I told people that Clarissa did most of the talking,” Teer said, prompting
Teer
Continued from page 1
her friends and family to exclaim, “What?”
“I am just like my dad in that I never met a stranger, so they found it hard to believe I mainly listened rather than talked,” she explained.
The result was that Teer accepted the editor’s position with a plan for publishing a printed newspaper that covers all of Arkansas County. The office was moved from DeWitt to the larger community of Stuttgart, with the goal of covering those two cities, plus others in the county such as Gillett, Humphrey and Almyra.
“We felt that to be viable we need to cover the entire county,” Teer said. The Era-Enterprise is the only printed newspaper in the county. “I’m old,” Teer said. “I like to touch the pages and turn the pages. And you can’t cut something out of an online paper.”
Publisher Natasha Jackson handles the business and advertising sides of the newspaper. Teer works with two stringers in DeWitt and another in Stuttgart. “As for me, I’m everywhere. People often see me two or three places in the same day. You can’t cover the news from the office.”
The newspaper is printed each Tuesday in Monticello and received in the mail by subscribers on Thursday. A replica of the newspaper is provided online.
Teer said one of the main efforts is to provide equal news coverage to the DeWitt and Stuttgart communities. A popular feature is “The Weekly Smile,” a front-page feature on everyday residents of the coverage areas.
“The biggest challenge for community newspapers, in my opinion, is getting people to understand news on Facebook, TikTok, and other social media is not necessarily accurate and/or fact checked responsibly.
“Since the internet has become where people look for their news, it’s sad there are still those who don’t have access to the internet or to a computer, and they are left out if there is nowhere to get local news.
“Unfortunately, businesses aren’t always supporting the news with advertising, which makes it difficult for us. Papers still have expenses. The cost of printing is ridiculous, not to mention postage, so without the support of local businesses, it is hard to turn a profit at all, not to mention hire more staff, add more pages, etcetera.”
Teer has a rather blunt, but important, message to potential advertisers and others who have the capacity to support local journalism. “You’ve got to help us out here. Put your money where your mouth is.”
Teer said her parent company, Reaves & Williams Publishing Group, headquartered in Cookeville, Tennessee, has been very supportive. “I love my bosses. They are very encouraging and let me make decisions that I think will help the newspaper. I am really excited about what we are doing.”
Teer has been successful in her journalism career, earning several APA Better Newspaper awards, including for her column writing and video work.
“I really love telling people’s stories,” she said. “I feel there is enough bad news in the world, and I really love telling the good news that happens every day in communities. I really believe if there was more good news shared, people would do more good things.”
Having said that, Teer has encountered situations in her career where she had to tackle difficult situations and report facts that are sometimes uncomfortable for people. “You’ve got to have the guts to go out there and find the truth,” she said.
“Community newspapers are important for local news and local happenings. Stories are more in-depth than a 30 second sound bite. Television news doesn’t always cover small town events and news, and national news certainly doesn’t. If you want to keep up with your local community, you need a local newspaper that will cover local events and news.”
Teer spent her early years in Las Vegas before her family moved back to her father’s native Arkansas. She graduated from Stuttgart High School in 1979. After graduation, she married and spent time in Texas before eventually moving back to Arkansas.
During a varied earlier career, she worked as an administrative assistant for several companies and also served as a waitress and restaurant manager.
Daughter Bethany is the President and CEO of the Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce. Another daughter, Sarah Pich, is the quality assurance manager of Riceland Foods in Stuttgart, and son, Joseph Pich, works in information technology at Baptist Health in Little Rock.
Teer’s pride and joy are her two grandchildren, Holden Hildebrand, 8, and Hattie Jo Hildebrand, 5. They are students at St. John’s Lutheran School in Stuttgart. Teer spends as much time
Teer hugs her two grandchildren, Holden and Hattie Jo Hildebrand.
Teer
with them as possible, saying “they are my life.”
Teer has faced several challenges in her life but has learned to push forward. She lost her father in 1987 and her mother in 1995. She has focused on the well-being of her children and grandchildren. “I believe that children live up to or down to your expectations,” she said.
“I am a very real person,” she said. “I don’t make pretenses. Life has been tough at times, but I have survived it. Life can be good, and I believe it will continue to be good.”
Era-Enterprise Editor Dawn Teer opens the door to an airplane cockpit.
APW 2025 Professional Communication Contest deadline soon
The 2025 Arkansas Press Women Professional Communications Contest is accepting entries through an initial deadline of noon January 29. After the initial deadline, entries will be accepted with an additional one-time processing fee of $25 until the final deadline of February 19. Book entries, a new category, have an earlier final deadline on noon February 5. All entries must be made of work published, posted or broadcast in calendar year 2024. Entrants do not have to be members of APW, but APW members get discounted rates for entry.
First place winners are eligible to advance to the national competition conducted by National Freedom of Press Women although entrants must be a member of NFPW. Non-members have until March 25 to join. First through third-place winners in the APW contest and honorable mentions will be recognized at an APW event in spring and the results of the contest will be posted on the APW website. Categories and rules have been revised to add books, short stories and verse, photography, radio/television and collegiate/education.
Categories are selected by entrants. Questions are encouraged to ensure entrants choose the correct category.
For more information, email co-directors Kristin Netterstrom Higgins at zesty_krstn@yahoo.com and Richard S. Plotkin at rsplotkin@conwaycorp.net.
Teer surrounded by her family and dog.
Former editor Lynda Hollenbeck dies at 83
Former Saline Courier Editor Lynda Lou Hollenbeck died January 5. She was 83. She was born in 1941 to Paul and Lillie Parnell in Little Rock and raised in Cotton Plant.
As a child, she had a passion for music and theatre arts, and began singing at age three and started learning piano by age six.
She pursued a music degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, but decided to change course and earn a journalism degree instead. While at the University of Arkansas, she worked at the student newspaper, The Arkansas Traveler
In 1970 she moved with her family to Benton after reading about an open position for society editor at the Courier. She was hired for the three-day-a-week position and made friends that would last her a lifetime, including then Editor Bob Ferguson who conducted her job interview.
“Someone introduced me to Ron Meyer on my first day, but my first encounter with publisher Sam Hodges wasn’t done with any formality,” Hollenbeck said in a 2018 interview. “I was sitting at a desk editing columns from some of the Courier correspondents — those wonderful downhome folk who would tell you what was served when the Smiths sat down to dinner with the Joneses and who had visited a particular church last Sunday — when this short, dapper, balding man walked in the front door, stopped beside me and said, ‘They tell me you can spell, punctuate and construct sentences. Glad to have you.’ That said, he walked away. I had no idea who he
was, but I, of course, would come to admire and respect this brilliant individual who was a tremendous influence in my life.”
From her role as society editor, she worked her way up to associate editor, focusing on elections, politics, school boards and much more.
“I’ve met some of the finest people in the world — some from humble, heartbreaking situations; others who seemed to just touch something and have it turn to gold. I learned early on that everybody has a story — some people have many — but if you give people a chance, they will open their hearts and share their lives with you.”
“There have been so many wonderful experiences in this job that I never would have had if I had gone in a different direction,” she said. “I’ve dined with movie stars and future presidents.
Over her career, Hollenbeck interviewed notable people such as Bill and Hillary Clinton, Burt Reynolds and Dr. Henry Heimlich, who is credited with discovering the Heimlich maneuver. She was recognized with awards for writing, photography and other aspects of journalism, but considered the praise of her readers to be the greatest honor.
She earned an APA Golden 50 Award in 2018 for her decades of service in the industry. She retired the same year, one of the longest tenured employees at the Courier.
Hollenbeck was involved with the Humane Society of Saline County and the Royal Players community theatre. She also served on the Friends of the Arkansas Health Center Board of Directors and served as pianist and music director for several churches.
She is preceded in death by her husband Ed Hollenbeck and her parents.
She is survived by her daughter Karen (Joey) and sons Paul Campbell (Sue) and Allen Campbell (Melissa), eight grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren.
Visitation will be held at Ashby Funeral Home in Benton on January 21 at 5 p.m. A graveside service on January 22 will follow in Cotton Plant with services beginning at 11 a.m.
Entries for second annual CFINR Awards accepted through Jan. 31
The 2nd Annual Center for Integrity in News Reporting Awards is now open for entries from news organizations in the United States.
Four $25,000 awards will be presented to the best and most impartial news reporting in four categories: Print Reporting, Broadcast Reporting, Cable Television Reporting and Digital Reporting. No editorials or columns may be submitted.
The Center was created by WEHCO Media, Inc. Chairman Walter E. Hussman, Jr., former Jackson, Mississippi Clarion Ledger editor Charles Overby and current WEHCO Media, Inc. Publisher Eliza Gaines to address a growing national problem — the public’s loss in trust in news reporting — and to help find solutions to restore that trust. The awards are designed to encourage and reward “news reporting that has the courage to not fear and the discipline to not favor.”
In the inaugural contest held earlier this year, Chris Fulton of APA Media Member Mountain Home Observer was named a finalist in the digital reporting category for his piece, “Mountain Home School Board –Arkansas FOIA Violations.”
The deadline to enter the 2025 contest is January 31. For more information about The Center for Integrity in News Reporting, visit www.cfinr.org. To enter the contest, visit https://bit.ly/CFINR2025.
Lynda Hollenbeck
APA board member Jennifer Allen featured in Marquis Who’s Who directory
APA Board Member and Hot Springs Village Voice Owner and Publisher, Jennifer Allen, was recently added to the list of Marquis Who’s Who. She was recognized for her contributions and career in Arkansas journalism, spanning over three decades.
Marquis Who’s Who publishes directories of biographical information on people in a given geographical location or field of endeavor. Their flagship publication, Who’s Who in America, has been published since 1899. Other examples of Marquis publications include Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, Who’s Who in American Law and Who’s Who in Asia.
Allen’s career began in 1989 as an advertising sales assistant and later
advertising sales representative at the Malvern Daily Record. While attending college at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, she joined the Daily Siftings Herald’s advertising sales team until her graduation in 1992. She then took a job at The Sentinel-Record in Hot Springs as an advertising sales representative. There she was promoted to advertising manager from 2001-2007.
In 2007, Allen joined the advertising sales team at the Hot Springs Village Voice, owned by Stephens Media at the time. A short time after coming on board, she became the regional advertising director until 2017.
She served as general manager over several publications from 2017-2019. She was a group publisher at Gannett from 2019-2020.
In 2021, she acquired the Voice from Gannett, something she considers her “most notable achievement” at the newspaper. She later launched a monthly magazine, HSV Life
Allen has served on the APA board of directors since 2019 and on the board of directors for the Hot Springs Village Area Chamber of Commerce from 2010-2020, including a year as president in 2018. She is a member of Kiwanis International, Rotary International and has served on the board and the public relations committee of the Hot Springs Village Community Foundation since 2019.
“As owner and publisher, she continues to innovate and adapt to the evolving media landscape, focusing on delivering quality local news and features that serve the Hot
Judges needed for Tennessee Press Association Better Newspaper Contest
Volunteer judges from APA’s membership are being recruited to review submissions next month in the Tennessee Press Association Better Newspaper Editorial Contest.
Judges will work online at their own pace judging enteries in categories such as feature, editorial and column writing, news coverage, photography and more over
three non-daily and two daily divisions. You may request to judge more than one category.
Please volunteer by filling out the secure form at https://forms.gle/ eGcQP6iJDfpWgEof8. If you have any questions, email Terri Cobb at terri@ arkansaspress.org or call (501) 374-1500.
Fellowship available for rural journalists
Rural journalists can apply for a fellowship that will cover a large portion of the costs for a training bootcamp at the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism in Columbia on computer-assisted reporting. The Rural Computer-Assisted Reporting fellowships cover registration, up to $1,250 value, a one-year membership or renewal for Investigative Reporters and Editors and an up to $500 travel stipend. The bootcamp is sponsored by IRE to help journalists learn how to conduct investigative reporting that provides a public service for residents of rural areas.
The R-CAR fellowships are provided through a fund created by Pulitzer Prizewinning journalist Daniel Gilbert. Funds are housed in an endowment as part of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues at the University of Kentucky.
To apply or for more information, visit https://www.ire.org/training/fellowshipsand-scholarships/r-car-fellowship/.
National News Literacy Week slated for February 3-7
National News Literacy Week is presented by the News Literacy Project, the E.W. Scripps Company and USA Today, highlighting the importance of helping students improve their media and news literacy skills. A list of events and a free downloadable activity planner is available at https://newslit.org/news-literacy-week/ The planner includes virtual lessons and infographics to help educators add news literacy to their curriculum.
The sixth year for the annual endeavor, the week teaches five primary standards, focusing on one each day — distinguishing news from other types of information, the importance of the First Amendment, the need for professional and ethical standards in journalism, building critical habits of mind to detect misinformation and exercising civic responsibility to seek, share and produce credible information.
Jennifer Allen
1979 APA Journalism Teacher of the Year dies at 85 in Malvern
Former journalism teacher Frances Alline Cagle died January 5. She was 85.
Cagle was born in DeQueen on September 19, 1939 to John Henry Slocum and Anna Margaret Corley Slocum. She graduated from North Little Rock High School and earned a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas State Teachers College (now UCA).
Over her 32-year teaching career, she taught at Magnet Cove, Traskwood, Jessieville, North Little Rock and for 24-years at Malvern. She was named Journalism Teacher of the Year by the APA in 1979, an honor she was very proud of.
Cagle was a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Malvern, Friends of the Library and the Arkansas Retired Teachers Association.
She was preceded in death by a sister, Margie Montgomery, and by her husband, W. S. Cagle, who died on August 2, 2024. The couple married on August 19, 1961 in North Little Rock.
She is survived by her son, James Cagle (Angela) of Malvern, her daughter Cheryl Bunch (Pat) of Arkadelphia, brother-in-law Jackie Montgomery of North Little Rock, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
APW opens 2025
scholarship
contest for entries by March 10
A $1,000 scholarship is up for grabs as Arkansas Press Women has launched its 2025 scholarship contest. The contest is open to an undergraduate student, male or female, who is attending an Arkansas college or university and plans to work in mass communications, journalism or a related field. The scholarship is awarded each spring.
The deadline to apply is March 10. The scholarship winner will be honored at the APW annual award ceremony in the spring.
Funding comes from APW’s Maudine Sanders Education Fund. Sanders was a long-time member of APW before her passing in 2011. She’s the previous owner of the Springdale Morning News.
To apply, visit https://arkansaspresswomen.org/apw-scholarship/. For more information, contact Scholarship Chair Angie Faller at amfaller@ualr.edu.
JonesboroRightNow.com and MOR Media, Inc. have joined APA as media members.
The Jonesboro-based news site and radio network joined with a staff of six — two full-time employees and four part-time — including Editor-in-Chief Rachel Anderson and President/General Manager Trey Stafford. The business started April 2, 2024 to “fill a void in the coverage of local news and events in Jonesboro and Craighead County.”
The company uses its six radio stations and social media channels to promote content that is being created and published to the website. The website is a “long-term project” initiated by the site’s parent company, Saga Communications of AR, LLC, in 16 markets. The project is patterned after a project started 12 years earlier in Clarksville, Tennessee by Katie Williamson Wheelis, a Pocahontas native and Jonesboro market veteran.
For more information, visit https://jonesbororightnow.com/
MOR Media, Inc. is the parent company of NEA Premiere Magazine. The company also operates three radio stations in Northeast Arkansas, including 107.1 JACK FM, JILL Radio @ 99.3 FM and iRock 103.7.
NEA Premiere Magazine is distributed in Jonesboro, Paragould and the surrounding small towns for free in racks and at advertisers’ locations. The company also offers a free monthly email subscription, delivering the entire publication as a flip book.
MOR Media is led by General Manager Dina Mason and Editor Gretchen Hunt, and is known for publishing “the Good News and the People Making it Happen in NEA.” The company was founded April 15, 2002 and is headquartered in Paragould.
Learn more at http://www.mormediainc.com/
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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.
Frances Alline Cagle
Guest Column: A few words about AI And
skipping the parts you already know about
By Kevin Slimp
After over 30 years of writing columns for journalists, I’m flabbergasted that anyone is interested in what I have to say. But it seems there are few of you left, so I’ll spend a little time this Saturday evening sharing my thoughts about artificial intelligence (AI) and its use by those of us in the news business.
Those who know me well know I’m not one to fall for the latest “gadgets” and “get rich quick” ideas. This probably comes from speaking at thousands of conferences over the years and seeing more “next big things” than I could count with a calculator. I remember being at a convention in Texas more than a decade ago when a publisher asked about a product being promoted by a “hot” vendor. I told the publisher, “They won’t be in business a year from now,” and they weren’t.
So please don’t lose patience when you don’t see me getting overly excited about anything, including artificial intelligence. That doesn’t mean I don’t see incredible potential in using AI or that I don’t think it’s a major force right now. It only means I try not to let emotions get the best of me regarding new technology. Let’s face it: I’ve spent most of my adult life developing, testing, using, and writing about technology. There was a time when my office looked like a computer store because of all the free software and hardware I received almost daily from companies hoping I would promote their products.
Yet here I am. Writing about artificial intelligence. I’ve even made a decent living – well, part of my living – speaking at conferences and leading workshops and webinars on the topic of AI. I acquiesced when universities and press associations began asking me to discuss artificial intelligence with publishers and university faculty. Let’s face it: it’s fun being considered an expert by professors who make a living from being experts.
When I speak with groups about AI, I generally break it down like this:
• The history of AI dating back to the 1940s
• Developments over the past 20 years that have sped up AI capabilities
• “Machine Learning” and how it forms the backbone of artificial intelligence
• Why artificial intelligence gets so much wrong
• Use of AI in the current business world
• Practical AI tools for possible use in communications and journalism
• Ethical considerations
• Creating an AI ethics policy
You probably have noticed I haven’t spent time promoting particular AI software or tools. It’s not because there aren’t great AI tools available for newspapers and other media types. It’s just that plenty of folks are writing and talking about these tools and how to use them. And remember, it’s Saturday night while I’m writing this, so I have no desire to get wordy.
Listen, I’ve used Grammarly since it first came to the market. I wouldn’t even think of letting one of my writers or editors send me their work without using Grammarly to go through it with a finetooth comb. I receive book manuscripts almost daily from authors, hoping I’ll consider publishing their books. And yes, I often use ChatGPT to create an outline and summary of the manuscripts to help me decide whether or not I want to take the time to read 40,000 words. I admit it: I’ve used Downsub to transcribe videos and create outlines of meetings. I’ve even used the AI tools in Photoshop to create additional content for an image to be used in an ad.
I once asked my brother – a leader in the world of computer science, including AI – for a quote I could share with audiences concerning AI. He did a good job summarizing my thoughts when he said, “You really shouldn’t be afraid of AI. Just like the internet (when it was new), we knew it could do good things, and we knew it could do bad things. There’s no need to be afraid of it. We can’t stop it. So, we might as well figure out what parts of AI to use and what parts of AI to leave alone.”
I don’t need to tell you never to use AI to write newspaper stories. You already know that. I don’t need to remind you that stories about high school ballgames written with AI almost always sound like a computer wrote them (and often get the details wrong). You know that.
I’ll just give you a pat on the back for sticking to your ethics and, in my brother’s words, “(figuring) out what parts of AI to use and what parts of AI to leave alone.”
That’s 800 words. It seems my work is done.
Kevin Slimp is a popular consultant, advisor and trainer in the newspaper industry. From 1997-2018, Kevin directed The Newspaper Institute of The University of Tennessee. He currently serves as CEO of Market Square Publishing and Chief Guru at NewspaperAcademy. com. Email him at kevin@kevinslimp.com.