Arkansas Broadcasters Honor Family Voices at Hall of Fame Ceremony

Tom Nichols, Heather Knight Loftis, Brooke Buckner, Jay Bunyard and Sid King. Loftis and Buckner represented their late fathers, Bob Knight and Ed Buckner. (Provided)

When Ed Buckner died of cancer in May, thousands of Arkansas weather watchers mourned. He was just 59, but his quarter-century as a Little Rock TV meteorologist left quite a legacy.

Last month, Buckner and four other longtime voices on Arkansas airwaves joined the Arkansas Broadcasters Hall of Fame. Four of the five inductees received their nominations from daughters who followed them into the radio and television industries.

Brooke Buckner, who nominated her dad, is a reporter and anchor at his old station, KTHV in Little Rock.

Clinton radio fixture Sid King got his nomination through his daughter, Ali King-Sugg, a former Arkansas Broadcasters Association president who owns 101.9-FM, The Lake, in Heber Springs. Her sister, Ashley King, also followed Sid into broadcasting, doing television work at KTHV and radio work at 101.7 KISS-FM and Alice 107.7.

Sid King’s great-uncle, Bob Buice, was an Arkansas radio pioneer on Little Rock’s KARK radio and hosted “Uncle Bob’s Stories From the Bible” for years on the Delta Farm Network, later the Arkansas Radio Network.

The other two hall inductees nominated by daughters were Bob Knight, the iconic Mountain Home radio man who died at 76 in 2021, and Tom Nichols, the popular owner and operator of KVRE-FM in Hot Springs Village. Nichols was nominated by his daughter Alice Bates, who is the general manager of the station and still does an on-air show with Nichols.

Knight was nominated by Heather Knight Loftis, his daughter who now operates the family stations.

Past ABA President Jay Bunyard also entered the hall. He wasn’t nominated by a relative, but his son, Jacob, works in the family broadcasting business in De Queen.

“The fact that family members are carrying on their fathers’ broadcasting legacies speaks to the deep-rooted connection between broadcasters and their communities,” said Chad Whiteaker, the immediate past president of the ABA. “It showcases how broadcasting can be a family affair with shared passions across generations.”

Neal Gladner, the association’s executive director, told Arkansas Business that the induction event on Sept. 15 was “a wonderful story about heritage, small business and a generational belief in broadcasting.”

The ceremony was part of the association’s annual convention at Oaklawn Racing Resort Casino in Hot Springs. The ABA elected a new slate of officers and two new board members at the gathering.

Kristen Speer, the general manager of five radio stations in Mountain Home and Harrison, is the new president. KTHV President and General Manager Marty Schack is vice president, and Tommy Craft took over as secretary-treasurer. He is the general manager of Pearson Broadcasting, which operates several sports talk stations under the ESPN brand in Arkansas.

Whiteaker, the past president, is the general manager of White River Now, which includes five radio stations.

Justin Acri of Signal Media, 103.7, The Buzz, joined the board along with JJ Cook of Noalmark Broadcasting, which has seven radio stations in south Arkansas. Officers serve one-year terms; board members’ serve three years.