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TheArkansas Democrat-Gazetteis thenewspaper of recordin the U.S. state ofArkansas,[2]printed inLittle Rockwith anorthwesteditionpublished inLowell.It is distributed for sale in all 75 of Arkansas' counties.
 The front page of the Wednesday, July 27, 2005 issue of theArkansas Democrat-Gazette | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Broadsheet |
| Owner(s) | WEHCO Media, Inc. |
| Publisher | Walter E. Hussman, Jr. |
| Editor | Eliza Hussman Gaines, managing editor |
| Founded | Democrat:1878 Gazette:1819 Democrat-Gazette:1991 |
| Headquarters | 121 East Capitol Avenue Little Rock,Arkansas72201 US |
| Circulation | 192,212 Daily 284,494 Sunday[1] |
| ISSN | 1060-4332 |
| OCLCnumber | 50767083 |
| Website | arkansasonline |
By virtue of one of its predecessors, theArkansas Gazette(founded in 1819), it claims to be the oldest continuously published newspaper west of theMississippi River.The original print shop of theGazetteis preserved at theHistoric Arkansas Museumin Little Rock.
History
editEarly years
editThe history of theArkansas Democrat-Gazettegoes back to the earliest days ofterritorial Arkansas.William E. Woodruffarrived at the territorial capital atArkansas Postin late 1819 on a dugout canoe with a second-hand wooden press. He cranked out the first edition of theArkansas Gazetteon November 20, 1819, 17 years before Arkansas became a state. TheGazettescrupulously avoided political involvement or endorsement early in its history.[3]
In 1821, the territorial capital was moved toLittle Rock,and Woodruff moved hisGazettealong with it. TheGazetteled the campaign for Arkansas statehood, accomplished in 1836, and constantly promoted new immigration.
TheGazettesupportedTexasindependence and called for volunteers from Arkansas to assist the Texans and supported theMexican–American War.In the 1840s, Woodruff lost control of the paper and established a competing paper, theArkansas Democrat(unrelated to the laterDemocrat).
In 1855, editorChristopher C. DanleyandSolon Borlandtook ownership of the newspaper, turning it into a mouthpiece for theKnow Nothingparty.[4]
American Civil War era
editTheGazettestruggled through the earlyAmerican Civil War,facing financial problems and shortages of supplies. TheGazettehad initially been pro-United States but altered its position afterU.S. President Abraham Lincolncalled for a75,000-man militia,much like Arkansas.
In 1863, U.S. troops recaptured Little Rock, and theGazettesuspended publication until May 1865, while U.S. authorities used the presses for publications.
Competition after the Civil War
edit
DuringReconstruction,a competitor arose by various names, under various editors, and with several different owners. In 1878, J.N. Smithee bought the newspaper, changed its name to theArkansas Democrat,and went after lucrative state printing contracts held by theGazette.
TheGazetteand theDemocratexchanged words that soon escalated into an exchange of gunfire between the owner of theDemocratand a part-owner of theGazette.
Over the years, theGazetteand theDemocratsupported opposing candidates and took opposite editorial positions. TheGazetteremained the dominant state newspaper throughout the simmering battle. TheGazettewas owned and edited byJohn Netherland Heiskell,who guided it with a firm hand through most of the 20th century.
In 1926, August Engel acquired a significant interest in theDemocrat.He became the newspaper's president and general manager, leading it through substantial growth over the next 43 years. Engel gained a reputation as a hard-working, shrewd businessman who actively participated in the editorial process.
Central High crisis
editTheGazettetook a strong editorial stance against GovernorOrval Faubuswhen he tried to prevent theLittle Rock Ninefrom integratingLittle Rock Central High Schoolin 1957. In 1958 theGazettewas awarded thePulitzer Prizefor Public Service for its stand; executive editorHarry Ashmorewon thePulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing.[5]This was the first time in history that a newspaper won two Pulitzer Prizes within the same year. Despite its honors, the circulation of theGazettedropped during the crisis due to boycotts, which ended when Ashmore left the paper.
TheDemocratcharted a generally neutral editorial stand. Its photographerWill Countstook several important pictures of the crisis, including a famous photo ofElizabeth Eckford,one of the Nine, being shouted at by an angry white girl, later identified asHazel Massery;theAssociated Pressdeclared it to be one of the top 100 photos of the 20th century. Counts also helped arrange the public reconciliation of Eckford and Massery in 1997.
Counts' work submitted by theArkansas Democratfor the 1958 Pulitzer Prize received the unanimous recommendation of the Pulitzer jurors for Best Spot News Photography. However, Counts was denied the award when the Pulitzer board overruled its jurors[6]and gave the award to another entrant which portrayed a different local police force as friendly to its citizens.
In 2005, theDemocrat-Gazetteeditorial cartoonist John Deering and his wife Cathy created a bronze sculpture of the Nine, entitledTestament,on the grounds of theArkansas State Capitol.[7]
The newspaper war
editHeiskell died in 1972, and his family continued to run theGazette. In 1974, theDemocratwas sold toWEHCO MediaInc., owned by the Hussman family.Walter E. Hussman Jr.,27, became the publisher. At the time of Hussman's arrival, the morningGazettewas far in front of the afternoonDemocrat,with daily circulation 118,702 to theDemocrat's62,405.[8]Hussman embarked on a campaign of significant cost reductions and concentrated subscription efforts on the Little Rock urban market. These efforts had little success. By 1977, Hussman attempted to reach an agreement with theGazetteto combine operations, but his overtures were rejected.
Hussman vigorously fought back and intended to make theDemocratthe state's largest newspaper. A war ensued between the two papers. TheDemocratexpanded its news operation, offered free classified advertisements, and switched from afternoon to morning publication.
In 1979, Hussman appointedJohn Robert Starrto managing editor. The fiery and irascible Starr temperament and intent in the upcoming circulation war was humorously illustrated by a cover story in the monthly magazineArkansas Timesshowing Starr squatting atop aGazettenewspaper box with a dagger between his teeth to show his seriousness. Starr doubled the size of the news staff and concentrated on hard news. Under Starr's direction, readership increased steadily. During 1980, theDemocratwas the fastest-growing newspaper in the United States.
TheGazetteresponded by hiring new staff, going to a color format, and filing a federal antitrust suit against theDemocratin 1984. The lawsuit accused the Hussman enterprises of predatory practices and trying to harm theGazette.TheDemocratresponded that it was only trying to gain market share to be more competitive with the larger and more dominantArkansas Gazette.
A federal jury in the court of U.S. District Judge William R. Overton rendered its verdict on March 26, 1986. TheDemocratwas found not guilty of all the allegations leveled against it by theGazette.
The Heiskell family sold theArkansas GazettetoGannett,the nation's largest newspaper chain, on December 1, 1986.
Gannett had immense assets to fight theDemocrat.However, it received criticism for bringing in out-of-town reporters and staff and losing the paper's local feel. TheGazette,nicknamed the "Old Lady", became flashier, but critics complained that the paper had lost the respect of the readership.
Over the next five years, the two newspapers dueled. The circulation of theGazetteremained steady over that period. Still, the daily circulation of theDemocratwent from 81,000 to 131,000, and the Sunday circulation leaped ahead of theGazette's 218,000 to achieve 230,000.
Victory of theDemocrat
editThe financial losses of the fiercely contested battle were too much for Gannett to justify. On October 18, 1991, Gannett threw in the towel and sold theGazetteto WEHCO. The first edition of theArkansas Democrat-Gazetterolled off the presses the following day, October 19. Regardless of which paper they subscribed to, most Arkansans were saddened by the sudden loss of their historic newspaper.
Many of the reporters and staff of the more liberalGazettewere thrown out of work and not picked up by the more conservativeDemocrat-Gazette.Many former employees were bitter at Gannett for managing the newspaper war and angry at theDemocratfor achieving victory. Many of the "Old Lady's" employees left for other markets while some who remained aided in converting theArkansas Timesfrom a magazine format to a tabloid newspaper to provide a more liberal weekly alternative to the dominant conservative paper.
In the years since, theArkansas Democrat-Gazettehas maintained a higher circulation than newspapers in similarly sized cities. Many newspapers that defeated in-town rivals concentrated on reducing costs and reduced news coverage to meet their goals. TheArkansas Democrat-Gazettehas continued to balance quality goals with profitability. Pulitzer Prize winnerPaul Greenbergwas appointed theDemocrat-Gazetteeditorial page editor on April 29, 1992. A sixth-generation Arkansan, Griffin Smith was appointed Executive Editor on June 23, 1992. Smith retired on May 1, 2012. Managing editor David Bailey, who joined the paper in May 1993, took over leadership of the newsroom operation. Greenberg stepped down on August 1, 2015, and David Barham, who joined the paper in 2002, took over as editorial page editor.
Online
editBefore most other newspapers, theDemocrat-Gazetteimplemented a websitepaywallin 2002. The newspaper credits the strategy with helping it stem declines in circulation, where it has fared much better than the industry at large since that time. Most other newspapers that implemented paywalls later had been operating popular free-access websites for years, leading to reader backlash.The Economistnoted that the strategy is aided by its "virtual monopoly" over news in the region.[9]
Digital conversion
editTheDemocrat-Gazette ended print delivery of its Monday-Saturday papers statewide throughout 2018 and 2019 and transitioned to a digital replica edition. All subscribers were provided a new iPad to access the replica edition and one-on-one instruction, training, and technical assistance. The Sunday paper remains in traditional print circulation.[10]
See also
edit
References
edit- ^"2008 Top 100 Daily Newspapers (in the U.S. by Circulation)"(PDF).BurrellesLuce. March 31, 2008. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on March 25, 2009.RetrievedMarch 30,2009.
- ^History of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- ^Stephens, Donna (2018)."The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture".
- ^Moneyhon, Carl H.(January 1, 2002).The Impact of the Civil War and Reconstruction on Arkansas: Persistence in the Midst of Ruin.University of Arkansas Press.ISBN978-1-55728-735-9.
- ^"1958 Pulitzer Prizes: Journalism".The Pulitzer Prizes.RetrievedNovember 14,2019.
- ^"Counts, Will (1931–2001)".Encyclopedia of Arkansas.RetrievedNovember 14,2019.
- ^Pryor, Mark (September 29, 2005)."Tribute to John Deering and his 'Testament' Sculpture".Congressional Record.RetrievedNovember 14,2019.
- ^SNPA: The First 100 Years. Southern Newspaper Publishers Association, 2003.
- ^"Now pay up".The Economist.August 27, 2009.RetrievedJune 3,2014.
- ^"UPDATE: Digital replica — Frequently asked questions".arkansasonline.RetrievedJanuary 4,2021.
- Reed, Roy (2009).Looking Back at the Arkansas Gazette: An Oral History.Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press.ISBN978-1-55728-899-8.