May 18 declared Rusty Turner Day by Fayetteville mayor

Bailey tapped as first woman to lead newsroom at the Times

Austin Bailey, formerly editorial director of the Arkansas Times, has been promoted to editor-in-chief, replacing Lindsey Millar. She is the first woman in the nearly 50-year history of the Times to lead the newsroom.

Millar announced in February that he planned to leave in May after 12 years at the publication. He will continue as a contributing editor.

Bailey joined the Times in 2021. Previously she was editor of World Ark, Heifer International’s magazine. A native of Asheville, North Carolina, she has also worked as a reporter at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the Pocono Record in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. She will focus primarily on the daily news on arktimes.com.

Additionally, former Managing Editor Stephanie Smittle has been promoted to editorial director and will work mainly on the monthly Arkansas Times magazine. Smittle, a native of Cave Springs, joined the Times in 2016 as the entertainment editor.

Benji Hardy will replace Smittle as managing editor. Hardy was previously an associate editor at the Arkansas Times, and has also worked for ProPublica and served as editor for the Arkansas Nonprofit News Network.