
Bobby Caldwell
A second east Arkansas newspaper scheduled for closure by leading chain GateHouse Media Inc. has been rescued by local buyers, with an Arkansas County broadcast group announcing that it has bought the Stuttgart Daily Leader.
Arkansas County Broadcasters Inc., a company under the East Arkansas Broadcasters company umbrella, announced Monday that it had purchased the Leader from GateHouse, based in suburban Rochester, New York. Already the nation’s largest news chain by number of papers, GateHouse is poised to merge with Gannett Co. of McLean, Virginia, in a pending $1.2 billion deal.
The Leader, which was publishing twice a week before GateHouse announced it would be shut down Sept. 6, was founded in 1885 and was profitable until a few years ago.
The Helena-West Helena World, the other GateHouse paper targeted for closing, was bought by Phillips County residents Andrew Bagley and Chuck Davis 10 days ago. They plan to print about 1,000 weekly copies.
Arkansas County Broadcasters Inc. operates six radio stations in the Leader’s circulation area, KWAK-AM, KWAK-FM, KDEW-FM, KVLO-FM, KXFE-FM and KOTN-FM. KWAK was Stuttgart’s first radio station, going on the air in 1948.
“Make no mistake, our company is extremely excited to purchase the Stuttgart Daily Leader,” East Arkansas Broadcasters COO Scott Siler told Arkansas Business. But plans on staffing, a printing schedule and the size of the print run still have to be determined, he said. The paper’s last circulation listed by the Arkansas Press Association was about 700.
“The purchase came about so quickly that we’re still doing due diligence and getting our arms around the situation,” Siler said. “We are still in the process of making plans to put out a great product for Stuttgart and the surrounding area.”
But Siler said getting information to Arkansans is second nature to the broadcasting group, which has about 50 employees around the state. “We feel like adding the Daily Leader to our group of six radio stations in south-central Arkansas will be a great outlet to help us continue to provide great local news and information to the area. We will be making plans over the next several weeks to bring the paper back in some fashion as soon as possible.”
Siler didn’t say whether the paper would publish weekly or more frequently, and a news release revealed nothing about employees, staffing or financial details on the sale. EAB did not make public any financial details of the sale.
Bobby Caldwell, EAB’s owner and president, said in a news release that the company is committed to local news and community affairs in all of its markets. “We have operated this group of local radio stations for Stuttgart and the surrounding region since 1986 and look forward to continuing to provide the area with entertainment, news, information and great advertising outlets for many years to come.” He said the purchase of the Leader “further solidifies this commitment.”
Family-owned EAB operates 51 radio signals in markets including Jonesboro, Wynne, Stuttgart, Dumas, Walnut Ridge, Pocahontas, Morrilton, Russellville and Clarksville. It also operates the EAB Ag Network and EAB Sports Network, official radio partners of Arkansas State University and Arkansas Tech University athletics.
Ashley Wimberley, executive director of the Arkansas Press Association, applauded the broadcasting group for buying the Leader and praised Bagley, a teacher at Phillips County Community College, and Davis, a retired businessman and downtown Helena booster, for saving the World.
The purchases by local interests demonstrate “the value and importance of a local newspaper to a community,” she said. “We’re so glad the new owners of both these publications recognized a newspaper is a worthwhile investment. We wish them success in providing an essential public service to the people of Arkansas and Phillips counties.”